The Art Of Meditation
by Flying Phoenix Fire
Summary: Outwardly he was emotionless, but internally he held onto everything. How much does Misao affect Aoshi? When Okashira business calls her away from the safety of the Aoiya, how will he react? Especially when a ghost he created shows up.
1. Beautiful Morning

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN! Or any of the components. They belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

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A/N: This is my First **EVER **Attempt at Fan Fiction, so any comments would be **GREATLY **appreciated!

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**EDIT 4/3/08:** Since I began this story nearly three years ago, I believe that I have grown as a writer, and in looking back at the previous drafts, it made me cringe. In addition, I have changed the format in the subsequent chapters, and I wanted to go back and make it uniform. There have been wording issues that (hopefully) have been resolved, and it reads a lot smoother now. Chapters 1-6 will be updated. Also, in looking back, I have since changed my pen name from "Misao M. Shinomori" to "Okira Soudai" as well, so the new drafts will hopefully cut down on confusion. Anyway, Enjoy! (Any really wierd spacing/no indication of a scene or time change is because the editing program changed it on me...I'm fustrated with it)

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**The Art of Meditation**

**Chapter 1: Beautiful Morning. **

The sun rose silently over the grand city of Kyoto. The trees swayed gently while the leaves danced in the slight breeze. Autumn was just about to hit it's peak of glorious color, and the world was bright. People were wandering around, soaking up the beauteous color. One place that they could always find a nice meal was at the Aoiya, which was busier than usual.

Kuro and Shiro were working as fast as they could while Okon and Omasu were busy waiting on tables and desperately trying to keep up with the crowd. Okina was also helping where he could.

'Where is Misao? We could really use her down here' He thought. He wandered up to Okon, who was wiping off a table and getting it ready for the next costumers.

"Where is Misao?" The elderly man said, stoking his white beard.

Okon sighed "She's still sleeping. She was up very late last night working on reports". Okon said, brushing her raven black hair behind her ear.

"We need her down here!" He said, turning toward the house.

Okon started to clean another table. "Just don't mess with her mind too much…she's still adjusting to her position and she has to make tea and lunch for Aoshi."

Okina nodded with a sly look in his eyes. He walked through the door, past the living quarters, and down the hall to Misao's room. He knocked on the door to reveal no answer. He slid the shoji open slightly to find nothing. Her futon was laid out, but not slept in. A worried look grew across his old features as he turned and closed the shoji behind him.

He wandered further down the hallway to the Okashira's office. He decided to forgo the knocking and slid the door open.

Misao had fallen asleep while going over the reports, and had her head in her arms leaning over the desk.

He walked over to her, and shook her gently to wake her. She snapped her head up, picking it off of the desk with a piece of paper stuck to her cheek. He smirked.

"Wha…? What time is it?" Misao asked wearily, rubbing her eyes. She noticed Okina's smirk. "What's so funny?"

Okina reached and grabbed the paper that was stuck to Misao's cheek. "This." he said as he handed the piece of paper to Misao.

"unggg…" Misao groaned.

Okina stared at Misao. "Ya know, I am sure Aoshi can teach you how to juggle the paperwork…" he said slyly. "…as well as other things"

Tink Tink Tink Tink Tink Tink

Misao flung a few of her famous kunai at Okina, pinning him to the wall. "JIYA!" She shirked, standing up from the desk and started to straiten her paperwork.

"MISAO! LET ME DOWN!" He screamed

She glared at him. 'Dirty old man…' She thought. "What are you doing here?"

"We need help with the Aoiya. The beautiful weather has brought in many customers and we're barely keeping up with them…Now, LET ME DOWN!"

Misao sighed, walking over to the wall to free Okina from the ridiculous position that the kunai had entrapped him in. "What time is it?"

"It's about 10:30"

Her sea foam green eyes shot open. "You mean I slept in to the point that I have to rush to get Aoshi's tea and lunch around?!" Usually she cheerfully put together Aoshi's lunch together and made tea. She did it delicately, hoping that he would notice the care that she put in it. She would run to the temple, full of excitement to see her beloved Aoshi-sama. This morning, she had to rush making everything just to get there in time. She rapidly freed Okina from the wall and went running to the bathhouse.

Okina walked back to the Aoiya to return to work, being his charismatic self.

--

Aoshi had arrived at the temple earlier than usual, knowing that it would be a busy day at the Aoiya. He had been at the temple for about 4 hours now, trying to find peace through meditation. Lately, he hadn't been doing well, because the combination of fighting and his comrades sacrificing themselves to save his life was haunting him more than usual. Because of this, the last few days have not been productive.

Before he left that morning, he walked by his old office, and peered into the open door. He attempted to pass it by, knowing that it was part of the past that he was trying to come to terms with. However, a quiet glow of a candle was shining through the doorway. Curiosity had got the best of him, forgoing the thought of passing it by. He quietly slipped into the office. He found Misao slumped over the desk. He sighed silently, and blew the flickering light out. He walked out of the room, with a sense of peace flowing through him. He turned to peer back into the dark office. He could see Misao's sleeping outline, and let himself have a small smile across face. 'She looks so peaceful' he thought. He slid the shoji behind him and walked to the temple.

He sat on the floor of the temple in his usual indian style position, trying to slay his inner demons. However, his mind to wandered to a young woman who was asleep on her desk earlier that morning. Peace freely flowed through his body as he slipped into a stasis that he had rarely felt since he returned from the battle with Kenshin and Shishio.

--

Misao emerged from the bathhouse with her hair wet, her usual braid was wrapped up in a bun. She wore her usual navy blue with light blue outline kimono top, matching shorts, and a red obi tied around her slender waist. She rushed to the kitchen to prepare Aoshi's lunch delicately as she could. Speedily, she put the kettle on for the tea as she put Kuro and Shiro to shame working beside them. Quickly, helping to fill some orders as she put together lunch for Aoshi.

She glanced up at the clock 'Oh No!' she thought "I'm late!" she said as she grabbed the components and placed them into a basket. She normally was on time, so that it would not disturb Aoshi's unspoken routine.

She started off, carefully running towards the temple with the basket hanging off of her arm. She raced up the steps, praying that she would not trip.

When she reached the top step, she tried to catch her breath. She ran swiftly but carefully, that not even a drop of the tea spilled. She gained her composure and slid the shoji open.

The sunlight was shining brilliantly through the windows casting light on Aoshi's motionless body, soaking up the warm rays. There was something in the air, a feeling that she could sense, but couldn't really put her finger on. She thought about it as she walked over to him.

"Aoshi-sama" She said cheerfully "you're lunch is ready!" she exclaimed with a big smile across her face, bubbling with enthusiasm and love.

He didn't move.

Her smile faded. She was excited to see him, but he would at least move when she said that his lunch was ready. She feared the worst.

"I'm sorry I'm late..." she said with a sorrowful tone. "I slept in this morning" She said as she frowned.

He still didn't move.

She walked over to him and sat down in front of him. His head was down, his legs flat against the ground in a semi-indian style with his hands clasped together in his lap. His breathing was deep yet, peaceful. She lowered her head.

'Aoshi-sama must be furious with me' she thought. Tears started to stream down her face as well as waves of worry. Her heart was heavy, yet pounding. Another thought crossed her mind. 'is Aoshi alright? He always acknowledged my presence before. Even if it was a gesture'

He sat still and calm.

Misao's heart was pounding as she reached for his hand. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as her hand neared his. She closed her eyes 'I hope he doesn't kill me for this' she thought as she dropped her hand on top of his.

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What will Aoshi's reaction be? Stay tuned for Chapter 2! Let me know what you think!


	2. Bliss and a Problem

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN NOR ANY OF IT'S COMPONENTS OR CHARACTERS** (There, I said it)

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**A/N** I am soo sorry for taking So long to update. Thank you to the Reviewers! YOU ROCK! I didn't know where to end this chapter, so please forgive me. Gomen Nasai!

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**EDIT: 4/3/08 Draft 3 has been replaced with Draft 10** (This is true for all of the edits). In looking back at my previous author's notes, I find some of them funny, and sometimes desparate. I'm keeping them in for humor, because I can comment on them in the edits and make fun of myself.

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**Chapter 2: Bliss and a Problem**

Tears streamed down Misao's face.

Aoshi still sat there still and silent.

She looked up. There was still no sign of him moving. She leaned in closer her face and within a couple of inches from his. She took her other hand and gently poked him in the forehead. He still wouldn't budge. A single tear ran down her cheek and onto his wrist.

Aoshi slowly came out of his trance and slowly lifted his head.

To both of their shock, their lips locked.

Misao was shocked. Aoshi was stunned. They stared at each stared at each other. Neither of them moved for a while. They were dumbfounded at the fateful action. There was something going on between them, but it was all mental.

'I can't believe this! I'm kissing AOSHI? Am I in a dream or something?' Misao thought as she looked into his icy blue eyes.

'Misao? How?' Aoshi thought as he looked deeply into his Okashira's eyes.

Both of them were afraid to move. Misao didn't want to move, and Aoshi was bewildered at the whole thing. Finally, Aoshi pulled away, but not before he moved his hand on top of hers.

Misao's heart flew and broke at the same time. 'I KISSED Aoshi-sama! But he pulled away, I wonder if this will make things better for us…or will it make it worse?.' She backed away (still keeping her hand in his) and sat back down on the floor. She gazed into those icy blue eyes that she had loved since she was a child.

Aoshi peered into her eyes. He wondered as to why there were tears streaming down her face. 'That peaceful sleeping girl that I saw earlier this morning was now suffering. Why?' Outwardly, he was emotionless, however, inside he held onto everything. A wall had been built since he was a child to block emotions from reaching the surface. Even his eyes had been trained not to show too much emotion. However, he was a little speechless about the kiss.

Misao looked away from Aoshi at the basket of food and tea she brought. She took her other arm to wipe away the tears that had been streaming down her face, keeping the other between his hands. The warmth comforted her.

"Lunch is ready" she said shakily.

"Arigato" He stated, letting go of Misao's hand.

Misao sighed. She stood up and wandered over to the basket.

' I wonder why she was crying.' Aoshi thought, watching Misao set up lunch for him. He began to brainstorm why she was crying, but couldn't come to a conclusion. "Why were you crying?" He asked flatly.

Misao looked up at him, pouring the tea. "I was worried about you" she said looking away from those piercing eyes and back down to the tea.

"Why?" He asked, confused.

Misao sighed as she pushed the tea cup towards Aoshi. 'Should I tell him the truth that he didn't acknowledge me, is it selfish of her to think about it?' She thought. "No reason" 'I guess'. She looked back up at Aoshi with a smile, trying to hide the concern she had earlier, and her happiness from the kiss.

"Liar" he stated flatly as he looked into her eyes. The piercing-ness of his eyes sent chills down her spine. He knew her very well and knew when she was lying. "I want the truth"

Misao shivered, 'those eyes will be the death of me' she thought. She knew better than to reply with a 'it's nothing' comment. Even though she was Okashira, Aoshi was still held in the highest regard in her heart.

Misao turned around slowly and looked at him straight into his eyes, with her own, reflecting back. at him. "You didn't move at all when I came with your lunch.Usually you turn your head or something to acknowledge that I made your lunch, but you were like stone. I was worried that…" her voice trailed off

"That I would revert back to my former self?" Aoshi stood, stretching as he approached Misao, and stopped several feet away. "You have no need to worry about that."

She didn't know what to think about that. She was happy she didn't have anything to worry about, but was still concerned for her beloved Aoshi-sama. Just then, Her stomach growled, and she blushed.

"You haven't eaten anything yet have you?" Aoshi asked, maintaining his blank expression.

Misao shook her head. Come to think of it, she did run out rather quickly that morning didn't she? "No. I woke up too late to worry about it".

Aoshi turned and looked at the lunch Misao had prepared, then looked back at Misao.

"You brought too much for me; I am not really hungry right now. Why don't you eat as well?"

Did Misao hear that right? Aoshi wants her to have LUNCH with him? Her heart leaped with pure joy (maybe that's an understatement), First the kiss and now LUNCH! She nearly danced around the room, while the shock left her with a huge smile on her face and brightened her already dazzling hazel eyes. Joy was radiating from her body. Even Aoshi felt it from where he was sitting.

Inwardly, he realized that the peace he felt as he watched her sleep that morning had put him into a balance with everything around him; including the hyper girl that was before him. He wanted to thank her, without letting her know he did that. He hadn't felt at this level of peace in a long time.

Misao sat down opposite from Aoshi and started to eat. Usually she wolfed down her food in a flash, but she wanted to savor this moment for as long as she possibly could. She was doing cartwheels on the inside, being face-to-face eating with Aoshi.

Although neither of them talked very much, Aoshi had taken the peace with Misao's presence there. 'There is something about her, but I couldn't put my finger on it.' Aoshi was smiling on the inside as the invitation for lunch was his way of saying 'thank you' to her for being there this morning. 'This peace that I experienced this morning had temporarily brought me out of my darkness.' His eyes and voice had even lost a bit of their edge. 'Could I possibly be turning into the man that he was destined to be?'

When they finished, Misao started to pack up her things and return to the already busy Aoiya. She turned to leave, but she glanced at him before opening the shoji. He was back to meditating, but he looked more peaceful than usual.

"See ya later Aoshi-sama!" She said cheerfully as she slid the shoji open.

The autumn air moved freely in the temple with the shoji open. The cool air washed across him, blowing his long, midnight black bangs. "Arigato….Be careful on your way" he said, not looking up, but soaking in the rays of sunlight and the moving air.

"Oh, I will Aoshi-sama!" She smiled and closed the shoji behind her.

He closed his eyes. 'Misao, if I could only repay you for the peace that you have given me' He thought as he went back into his trance.

--

Misao stood on the other side of the door. 'Oh, my dear Aoshi-sama. If there could be any way that I could possibly thank you for letting me stay with you today' A smile spread across her face as she skipped down the steps of the temple.

--

Back at the Aoiya, Okina was keeping a close eye out for her. "Misao! Where Have you Been?" Okina asked as she pushed open the door to the famous restaurant. "You know that Aoshi needs time to let his emotional wounds heal"

Misao was caught in a day-dream. She sighed as she skipped merrily around the Aoiya and into the kitchen to help out the others.

"Okashira! A message just came for you" Shiro said as he was putting together some orders.

"Where is it?" Misao asked, confused.

"It's in your office" Omasu chimed in.

"Are you going to be alright in here if I check it out?" Misao asked as she turned to leave for her office.

Shiro turned away from his work "It should be alright. The lunch rush has slowed down. The letter seemed important…better check it out right away."

"Alright…I should be back shortly" Misao said as she skipped merrily down the hall.

The others knew something was up. She was usually a little depressed when she returned from the temple. They wondered why she was so happy.

--

Misao slid open the door to the office open to see the letter neatly laid on her desktop. She slid into the chair and opened it.

_Okashira: We have a problem!…_

'Oh, No!' She thought as she set it down in disbelief.

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**To be Continued…**


	3. A Promise for Departure

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rurouni Kenshin or ANY of its components or Characters**

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A/N I am SOO Sorry that It took me this long to update! GOMEN! I am in the final 2 weeks of college (associates degree), and I have a TON of assignments to get done before graduation. Therefore, I really haven't been working on this as much (it didn't help that I had a severe case of writer's block for this chapter). Once Again, I apologize. I will probably update this sometime next week if I am able to get my assignments completed in that amount of time (or I get a few reviews that will motivate me to update sooner:) )._**Please R&R**_

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**EDITED: 4/3/08 **Wow…and I thought things were busy then. It was my final semester of my bachelors that was the true chaos…live and learn.

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**Chapter 3: Impending Mission**

Misao slumped down into her chair behind the desk. Misao sighed and closed her eyes. 'Just when things were starting to go right around here, something has to happen.' She thought under protest as she crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, reading the letter again:

_Okashira: We have a problem! A local drug lord and his operatives have been slipping the drugs in people's food in the local restaurants. Please come and help us crack this case open to save the people here. Your assistance is needed as well as your leadership. - Okira, 2nd in command of the Yokohama Oniwaban post_

She sighed as she stood up from her chair. 'I guess I have no choice but to go... even though I really want to stay here with Aoshi-sama. But, I am the Okashira, and with that there are specific responsibilities.' Misao walked to the door, she turned and looked into the office. This place had held so many memories for her. When she was little, she would always run in to beg Aoshi to put away his work so he could play with her.

She smiled as those memories flooded into her mind of the simpler times. Her smile quickly vanished when she realized that the times were behind her, and she had to go to work. She sighed and wandered down the hallway to her room to pack.

--

At the temple, Aoshi tried to get back into his trance that he was in earlier that day, but he couldn't get Misao and the kiss out of his mind. 'Her lips were so soft and gentle.' He couldn't help but to think as he sat on the floor replaying the entire visit in his head. Eventually, he did fall back into his form of stasis, but not after he revisited the day's events over again in his mind.

--

Misao finished up packing her bags, and returned to the kitchen to help out with orders. The restaurant was still packed full of people that were out enjoying the sunshine. She grabbed a dishtowel and started to clean off a table.

"What was the message about?" Okon asked as she cleaned off a table.

"I have to go to Yokohama. There is someone threatening the common people, and the post is having trouble with the problem." Misao said, her voice was heavy and laced with a hint of frustration. She didn't want to release too many details while she was in the dining area with costumers.

"Is it that bad? You were basically dancing when you came back from the temple today, it must be something pretty upsetting to get you out of one of those moods." Omasu chimed as she walked past with an armload of orders.

Misao sighed. "I'll be leaving tomorrow, it's a really sticky situation, I'll fill you in on it later."

Okon nodded. The in the given situation, it was not wise to continue with the conversation. However, she was curious about what had set Misao in a good mood earlier. "So, how was your trip to the temple?" She asked as she turned to run to the kitchen with an armload of dishes.

Misao turned to walk with her, she had to rinse out her dishtowel. Misao sighed, and let a small smile spread across her face. "Well…" A sudden wave of energy washed over her as she remembered the kiss and lunch with Aoshi. A bounce occurred in her step as she more or less skipped alongside Okon. "He let me eat lunch with him!"

Okon smiled as she dumped the dishes into a tub of warm, soapy water that Kuro was washing at. "That's amazing Misao!" Unfortunately, she didn't warn Kuro before she dumped them, splashing him with the water.

Kuro looked up. He had soap suds all over him, and he had a stream of bubbles down his chin. Misao and Okon almost keeled over laughing. "Now what in the world has you two so pre-occupied? And what's so funny?" Kuro stated as he started to dry off with a nearby towel.

"I'm so sorry Kuro! I was happy for Misao"

Kuro looked at the two, who were basically falling over with laughter. "Misao?" He asked, confused. He moved his hand up to his chin, noticing that he had a soap beard. He chuckled.

"Aoshi-sama let me have lunch with him today" Misao finally got out as she continued to laugh.

Kuro smiled. "Well, it looks like he's starting to return to us. Only you could do it Misao!" He said chuckling, as he wiped the soap beard away from his chin.

Omasu appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. "I need help out there!" She looked inquisitively at Kuro, wondering why he was drenched.

Okon, Kuro, and Misao smiled. Okon and Misao turned for the door, and Kuro returned to the dishes. "What do you mean by 'only I could do it?'" Misao asked. She had turned slightly to watch Kuro, as he slyly smiled at her.

Misao was just about to say something, but Omasu grabbed her, forcing an order tablet into her hand. "We need help."

Misao turned and looked at the busy dining area. 'Darn it! Just when I could grill Kuro for what he said. What did he mean by that?' She thought as she dashed around the Aoiya taking orders.

Everyone was exhausted from the day. They relaxed in the garden area while waiting for dinner. It was dusk, and the sun was setting softly over the horizon. The sky was a wash of pinks, purples and deep blues, and the stars were softly making their appearance in the autumn sky.

Misao was sitting on an edge, staring up at the sky, with one leg dangling off the porch while the other was drawn up close to her body.

"Hasn't Aoshi returned yet?" Shiro asked.

Misao looked up at him, and snapped back to reality from a daydream. "I haven't seen him yet."

"Isn't he usually home by now?"

Misao looked him with amazement. She almost forgot he was still at the temple. "Usually."

"Dinner is almost ready why don't you go get him?" He asked, looking into the starry eyes of the Okashira.

Misao smiled. "I guess I will" She stood up from her position, and started to walk towards the door.

Shiro smiled and looked momentarily at the sky. "I'll go with you"

"Eh?" Misao turned to see Shiro walking towards her. "Why? I'm only going to the temple, it's not that big of a deal"

Shiro smiled. "Just wanted to get out and go for a walk, it's a beautiful evening."

Misao smiled at him, 'might as well' she thought.

The two started on their walk toward the temple, chatting about little things, but Shiro was curious about the letter that came for Misao earlier that day. "What was the letter about?"

Misao sighed. There were people out and about, but busy with their own lives. "I have to go to Yokohama. I will tell you and the rest of the Oniwaban after dinner."

Shiro frowned as they climbed the steps of the temple. "It's that bad, huh?" He asked.

The weight of Misao's title was once again bearing down on her. "Hai" She slid the shoji of the temple open, revealing emptiness. Misao's eyes darted around the room. 'Where is he?' She wondered. She walked toward the balcony, and there was Aoshi. He was in his meditative state once again.

Shiro followed her, and when he saw Aoshi he tried to coax him out of the temple.

Aoshi stayed still and silent.

"Aoshi, dinner's about ready! You better get off your butt and come home or else you'll have leftovers!" He said teasingly.

Aoshi didn't budge.

Misao laughed as she shook her head. "He won't respond to that."

Shiro looked at her with confusion. "Oh, and YOU have a better idea!"

Misao smirked. "Yeah, I DO!" She leaned down close to Aoshi's face. His face was more haunted than usual. The weight of her upcoming trip started to crush her. The mix of the expression on his face and the current problem stirred her and tears began to form. She let one of them drop onto Aoshi's hands.

Aoshi came out of his trance, raising his head to stare into the hazel eyes that were looking at him.

"Really Misao, there must be a better way to get my attention." 'I hate to see you in tears. That is why I left without saying goodbye all those years ago.' He thought silently as he stood.

Misao's heart was lifted a little, giving her a chance to breathe with the impending mission. She tried to smile, drying her tears. "Well, you have to stick with what works." She said jokingly.

Aoshi was not amused. 'That still doesn't justify those tears. The last time she summoned me she was in tears as well. Do I really upset her that much? She has given me a peace that has allowed me to slay my inner demons, and yet, I am upsetting her. How could I ever repay her while I upset her?'

"I was only joking!" Misao looked at him with a smile on her face.

"We should get going. Dinner will be cold if we linger much longer." Shiro interjected.

Aoshi nodded and the three started back to the Aoiya.

--

Dinner was nearly over when Misao stood to tell the rest of the Oniwaban about the letter.

"I have an announcement. I will be leaving tomorrow for Yokohama. I received a letter from stating that there is a drug lord that is gaining control…" She looked at Aoshi, realizing it sounded like the Kanyruu incident. Toning down her voice, she continued "…and this drug lord is putting the drugs into the food of the townspeople at the local restaurants. I have been summoned to help out with this."

"Oh No! That's terrible!" Okon said setting down her cup.

Okina could sense that Aoshi was having trouble with the idea. It sounded a little too much like the Kanryuu affair.

Aoshi sat silently, trying to block the haunting memories of working with Kanryuu. The scar from one of the bullet wounds in his leg started to sting. 'Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikijou, Hannya…You sacrificed your lives to save mine, and because of my state of mind at the time, I nearly went insane with revenge. I will not let it happen again with Misao.' "You can't go." Aoshi stated flatly, but forcefully. 'I'm not going to let Misao get involved with something that could kill her in the end. I couldn't stand to loose Hannya and the others; I couldn't take it if she ended up with the same fate.' He looked up at her with a look of concern.

Misao was taken aback by this. However, she blurted out "You are not the Okashira anymore Aoshi. I have to go, as my duty as the Okashira."

The air in the room became thick, Aoshi with concern, Misao with frustration.

After a bit of the silent stalemate, Okina asked "Then why don't you go with her?"

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**To Be Continued...**


	4. A Reason for Concern

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN RUROUNI KENSHIN OR ANY OF IT'S COMPONENTS OR CHARACTERS **(I feel really redundant now... -.-; )

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**A/N**: **A BIG THANK YOU GOES TO THE REVIEWERS! HUGS **Once again, I am sorry it took me soo long to update. I'm in my Final week, and I still have a ton of stuff to get caught up on, as well as do. I've had the first part written for a while now, but I received a extremely busy schedule, and a case of writer's block. I'm sorry for the errors that are in here. I really wanted to get this posted before the busy week of graduation really gets the best of me. **_PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!_** All reviews are greatly appreciated, and they really inspire me to write.

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**EDITED: 4/3/08 **Excuses, excuses. Did I mention that I start work next week? Hopefully I will keep up. (I'm getting closer to a chapter that I am dying to write!!)

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**Chapter 4: Concern**

Misao looked at Okina with hope, Aoshi with pain.

"That's a great idea!" Omasu chimed "Aoshi has experience in dealing with people like that, and it'll ensure that Misao is well cared for while she's away"

Misao looked hopefully at Aoshi, starry eyed, with a huge smile plastered across her face.

Aoshi looked down at the table in front of him. 'True, Misao wouldn't be harmed if I went with her, but could I possibly face people like that again?' His scars from the gatling gun burned, as well as a pang in his chest.

She noticed that this was greatly troubling him. Her smile faded, realizing that he was not ready to be on such a mission yet. As much as she wanted him to accompany her, she feared that if he went into battle in this state, he could be killed. Her heart sank as she sighed.

"Misao…" Aoshi began. The pain in his chest ached; the weight of the nightmare of a memory crushed him. But he was determined to keep her safe, especially in dealing with people like Kanryuu. He was not going to loose her, as he lost his closest friends.

She looked at him. Her mind and heart were screaming at each other. She desperately wanted Aoshi to come with her, but she was more worried about him in the heat of battle. "You are staying here."

His head snapped up.

"What?!" The other Oniwaban members inquired.

"Misao…" Aoshi couldn't believe what he was hearing. She wanted him to stay?

"I command you as your Okashira." Misao's voice was forceful.

'What in the-….Have I really upset her that much? What happened to the Misao that followed me all over Japan? Why does she all of a sudden not want me to be around her?' Aoshi's mind was flooded with questions. "What is the meaning of this Misao?" he asked, forcefully.

"You shouldn't be fighting right now." Her tone was cold and harsh, this was something that she wasn't about to back down on.

Aoshi shivered. She had never taken this tone with him, sending shivers down his spine. His mind was trying to think of a way to counter her words, but nothing came to mind. He was in shock.

She softened her tone a bit. "I appreciate the offer Aoshi-sama, but I will not allow you to accompany me on this journey" 'What am I SAYING? This can't be what I am thinking!' Misao's mind and heart were ripping at each other. She WANTED Aoshi to come with her, but the logic behind what she was saying was ripping her dreams of walking alongside him to shreds.

Aoshi's heart sank. 'How could she possibly know what is going on deep within me? Am I that easy to read? How is it that she knows me better than the others, that this is really painful for me?' "Misao…"

"It's final." Misao couldn't believe what she was saying. 'I **WANT** him to go with me, I WANT him to go with me, I Want him to go with me; I want him to go with me…' The more she said it in her mind, the more she felt confident in her decision. It would cause Aoshi a great pain if he went with her. She shook her head and stood up.

The rest of the Oniwaban was shocked.

Aoshi closed his eyes and bowed, acknowledging her train of thought.

Misao acknowledged Aoshi and then turned to go to her room, stopping in the doorway. "I'll be leaving in the morning." Her heart was heavy with the impending mission. However, she managed to place a half-hearted smile across her face. "Good night!" She continued to go on her path down the hall to her room.

Everyone was stunned. 'Misao turned down Aoshi? No way!' was the dominant thought between everyone except for Aoshi.

He didn't know what was worse, the searing scars, or Misao turning down his offer to protect her. 'Protect her…I promised that I would protect her…when our previous Okashira passed on...protect her...' He thought. He stood up and walked down the hallway, leaving the rest of them to figure out what had just happened.

Misao slowly walked into her room and quietly closed the door behind her. 'I can't believe I did that…' She thought as she changed into her yukata, and slid into the covers of her futon. 'But, he could be killed if he came with me…And, I am sixteen years old...I can handle myself!'

Aoshi found himself standing on the other side of Misao's door, staring at the rice paper frames. He sighed and raised his hand to knock on the door

Misao laid her head down on her futon, and sighed. "Arigato, Aoshi-sama" she said as she closed her eyes.

He heard her comment, and lowered his hand. He let his head fall. "You're welcome, Misao" he whispered. He turned and headed down the hallway to his room.

She heard him, smiled, and let her mind drift off into a state of sleep.

Aoshi slid his door closed and placidly sat down on his futon. Externally, he was the same blank-expressioned, quiet, Aoshi. His mind was another story. He tried to meditate to clear his mind, but to no avail. The thought of Misao leaving plagued his mind like a swarm of locusts. His mind drifted to the next day, and the promise of Misao's departure.

His eyes snapped open. His brow was covered in a cold sweat. Gaining his composure, he stood up and walked toward Misao's room.

He stood in front of the door, wondering at first why he was there in the first place. His scars intensified, and he remembered. 'Seeing Misao sleeping earlier calmed my soul, maybe…' He shuddered at the thought. He really didn't want to open her door and invade her privacy. However, the thoughts of her departure were hurting him like no other. 'Misao, forgive me.'

He quietly slid her door open about an inch. The small opening allowed a small sliver of light to enter the dark room, casting light on Misao's sleeping body. He sighed. She was here, sleeping like an angel. Peace flooded his senses, and he quietly closed the door and returned to his room.

Back in his room, he allowed the peace to flow through him, soon after he drifted asleep…

_Aoshi looked around curiously. He was in a ballroom with hard wood floors and an elaborate chandelier hanging over his head. 'There is something very familiar about this place' His eyes fixated on a man, laying on the floor with three slash marks across his chest._

_"KENSHIN"! Kaoru cried_

_"You're going to pay for this. You're not getting away Aoshi! Even if I die in the process I'm going to make sure to take you with me!" Yahiko yelled_

_Aoshi was stunned 'what am I doing here?' "You have a good presence; there is no need to rush to your death. Just walk away." 'Wait, why did I just say that?' Aoshi tried to find an explanation, but he didn't find an immediate answer._

_"YOU SHUT UP!" Yahiko replied_

_"Yahiko,...Yahiko you are important to the Kamiya Kasshin style as its successor. I can't let you die in a place like this." Kenshin stood up from his position on the floor._

_"Kenshin's alive!" Kaoru cried out in joy._

_"I can't let myself die in a place like this either" Kenshin was facing Aoshi, holding his sheath up._

_"I can't believe my attack didn't kill you" Aoshi was shocked. 'hold on, this is all coming back to me now...how could I forget' He gloomily thought_

_"What your attack killed was…" CRACK! Kenshin's sheath pieces fell to the floor._

_"Hey, I get it. Kenshin pulled his sheath up at the last moment and cut some of the power out of Aoshi's attack" Sanoske said, relieved._

_"I should've expected this from the one that was known as the best manslayer. I acknowledge your strength from the bottom of my heart." 'what the-' "but I tell you once more, I want the reputation for being known as the strongest to belong to the Oniwaban group." Aoshi moved into the Kiten Kembu  
stance and started the defensive part of the attack. 'Oh, no'_

_"Be careful Kenshin!" Yahiko stated_

_"He's going to use that attack on you" Kaoru reminded_

_"I won't miss this time, and your body must ache, your movements are slow, it's over HIMURA THE BATTOSAI!" Aoshi started to move towards the offensive attack, just to be stopped by Kenshin catching his kodachi in his hand._

_"There is one instant that you are off guard when you use the Kiten Kembu and switch from an defensive stance to an offensive one." Kenshin read his attack as if he were reading a book._

_"He Caught the Blade!" Yahiko stated._

_"Aoshi, if you want to be known as the best I will gladly let you have that title. But right now, there are people waiting for my help and those who I can share happiness and sadness with are much more important to me than that! HUGH!" Kenshin shoved the handle of Aoshi's kodachi into his throat._

_"I'm going to loose?" 'Oh kami-sama...Please don't make me relive this...'_

_"Don't be foolish, stand down Aoshi"_

_"NO!" Aoshi punched Kenshin and sent him flying, however he was on a trip to the floor._

_Aoshi was trapped in a nightmare of the past. He had landed, and his 'dream' self was left unconscious. 'I am reliving the painful past. I have tried so hard to work through this, but now… there must be some sort of reason why I am reliving the nightmare…' His 'dream' body stood up, and looked at his enemy in front of him, with Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikijou, and Hannya standing behind him in the ballroom doorway._

_"Why didn't you finish me off?" 'Dream' Aoshi asked. 'Because he―' Aoshi realized that it was stupid to argue with himself, especially in a dream._

_"I am a wanderer now that I am. I am not a manslayer anymore. Aoshi, why are you so obsessed with being the best? In these times of peace, don't you think that being the best warrior means next to nothing? There should be plenty of other ways to use the skills you have." Kenshin reasoned._

_"It meant something to us." Hannya explained. Some of the other Oniwaban members were able to find new ways of life. But look at us, there is no place in this society for men like us, whose only skills are fighting."_

_"But despite that fact" Shikijou interjected. Our Okashira never deserted us he even turned down offers to be a big army official for the new regime just for our sakes."_

_"But I was the one who…made you members of the Oniwaban group and the least I could do was to make sure that your names would carry the title of the very best that ever was." 'Normal' He felt the presence of the four men behind him, and took comfort in it. He realized that 'Dream' Aoshi was on a form of Auto-pilot, reliving the past, that there was nothing he could do to prevent the outcome, and even if he could, change a dream would hold little meaning in reality. He tried to move the body, but to no avail._

_"Battosai finish me off." 'Dream' Aoshi addressed Kenshin. 'Normal' Aoshi winced and knew Kenshin's answer._

_"OKASHIRA" The four inquired in concern for their leader._

_"It's alright" 'Dream' Aoshi responded, and turned to look at his four comrades, who were in shock._

_"Enough." 'Normal' Aoshi remembered all too well their reaction, but it was good to see them again, even in a dream, for a brief moment. His heart was heavy. 'Dream' Aoshi turned back at Kenshin. "Finish me off now Battosai, because if you don't I promise that I will continue to come after you for as long as I can."_

_"That's fine, keep challenging me until you are satisfied."_

_"Kenshin…" Kaoru responded._

_Kenshin ignored her, and continued with his comment. "However, this is between you and me Aoshi; I won't allow you to involve anyone else in this fight."_

_'Dream' Aoshi stared at Kenshin. 'Normal' Aoshi braced himself for the fateful and frightening sound that he had ever heard._

_GlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlatta_

_"It can't be..." Kenshin said in fear._

_Kanryuu laughed. "I'd be happy to finish you off Aoshi along with the rest of your obsolete Oniwaban group, the Battosai, and all of his friends here._

_"Wha, What the heck is that?" Yahiko looked on in amazement._

_"It's a gatling gun. The very latest available in fact. It is no longer the age of swords you know…HaHaHaHaHa" Kanryuu taunted_

_"Kanryuu…" 'Dream' Aoshi stated._

_"Why don't I demonstrate for you? Kanryuu shot off the gatling gun, making everyone either duck or run for cover. "So how do you like it? This model can fire 200 bullets in one minute!"_

_"Where did you get that thing Kanryuu?" Hannya inquired while dodging bullets._

_"You can address me as Kanryruu-sama you low-life gorilla!" Kanryuu pointed the gun at Hannya and started to fire._

_Aoshi ran and pushed Hannya out of the way, placing three bullets in his legs. 'Normal' Aoshi would've handled it the same way, loosing himself in the nightmare._

_"Okashira!" All four men came running to his side._

_Aoshi sneered up at Kanryuu._

_"Just so everyone knows, I have no intention of ending up an underground opium dealer forever, I have other plans." He took out a cigar and lit it. "I was planning to establish enough capital with the new opium and start to rake in some real money by selling modern weapons, like this gatling gun."_

_Aoshi winced in pain while the Battousai and Kamiya Kaoru rambled about 'death merchants' and something about 'I will never allow it to happen' and Kanryuu's explination._

_His head snapped up when he heard Kanryuu address him._

_"I believe you mocked me earlier leader, so you will be the first to go, my UNFAITHFUL SERVANT!" Kanryuu turned the gun onto Aoshi and started to fire._

_Shikijou stood in the line of fire, catching the bullets in his back, and shielding Aoshi._

_"...Shikijou…." Aoshi looked at his comrade in terror._

_"Leader, don't give me that look cause it doesn't suit you at all. I'm glad that these old muscles I've got thanks to my training as a member of the Oniwaban group finally came in handy for something." Shikijou attempted so smile at Aoshi, but breathed his last and fell onto his knees._

_"Shikijou…" Aoshi was trying to hold back his tears, looking at his fallen comrade._

_"So who wants to be next?" Kanryuu taunted_

_Hyottoko ran towards Kanryuu. "You're the one that's going to DIE!"_

_Aoshi winced. Going through this again, was too painful to bear as he saw Hyottoko run down by bullets. "HYOTTOKO!"_

_Beshimi ran behind Hyottoko and when he fell, Beshimi jumped off of his back, and attempted to injure Kanryuu with a poison spiral attack. "TAKE THIS"_

_Kanryuu read his attack, and raised the gun and fired at Beshimi. The spiral attack landed on the rounds, and Beshimi fell to the floor._

_"BESHIMI!" Aoshi yelled, feeling the pain being cut through him once again._

_"I-I'm sorry for letting ya down" Hyottoko said with his last breath_

_"I guess we just couldn't help you when you need us the most." Beshimi looked at Aoshi, and then passed on._

_Hannya appeared behind Kenshin and the others "Megumi Takani is in the Observatory on the third floor."_

_"Hannya…?" Kenshin looked at him, confused._

_"Battosai, pick up your reverse blade sword…I'll take the Hiten Mitsurugi Style as my souvenir to the under world." Hannya ran in the opposite direction of the sword to draw the fire away from Kenshin._

_"HANNYA!" Aoshi yelled. He shivered inside as he listened to Hannya's final words._

_"Farewell leader!" He said, just shortly before Kanryuu got him in the chest with a bullet._

_Aoshi watched Hannya fall to the floor. His heart was heavy; and deeply troubled as he had watched the final moments of his comrades. He inwardly writhed in pain and anguish._

_"THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH BATTOSAI!" Kanryuu screamed as he aimed the gun at Kenshin._

_"AOSHI!" The voice cut through the room like a sharpened Kuni._

_Everyone looked to the doorway where a girl was standing._

_"…Misao?" Aoshi was confused, but he was now in control, to a certain extent of the 'dream' body._

_"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!"_

_He was too late as Misao came running toward him. She tripped on Hannya's body and fell to the floor._

_"Hannya…?" Misao looked around the room where Beshimi, Hyottoko, Shikijou and Hannya were lying. "NOOOOOO!" She started to cry, but picked herself up off of the floor and ran toward Aoshi._

_"AOSHI!" She screamed as she ran._

_He didn't know what to think. He blurted out "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE MISAO!" but his cry was not heard over one specific sound..._

_GlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlatta_

_"_Misao!"

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I'm sorry for the length of Aoshi's nightmare sequence...It's something I had planned for this for a while now.

**To Be Continued...**


	5. Delay

**I Do NOT own Rurouni Kenshin or any of it's components or Characters!** (Redundancy strikes AGAIN! -.-)

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**A/N: **Yay! I am done with school! Once again, I am sorry for the delay, and not updating sooner. I will have more time to write now, and I will be updating more frequently (possibly every 3-4 days, and it will be edited better) :) **THANK YOU SO MUCH REVIEWERS! HUGS!** It really inspires me to continue writing :D So, if you want to read more, Remember to Please **_Read and Review!_ **

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**EDITED: 4/3/08 **Reviews still inspire me, and I love to hear the inquiries and suggestions. In addition, I am excited about later chapters, and that has become my motivation. I may be the one that has the story mapped out, but I can't wait to write specific parts and chapters. (You all still inspire me, but I promise, I'm not as creepy).

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**Chapter 5: Delay**

Aoshi snapped his eyes open. "Misao…." He breathed, nearly hyperventilating. Sweat drenched his brow, and the covers were in disarray around him. He sat up, took a hold of the covers to place them back over him, but the vague memory of the nightmare was haunting him…

_"AOSHI!" She screamed as she ran._

_Aoshi didn't know what to think. He blurted out "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE MISAO!" but his cry was not heard over one specific sound._

_GlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlatta_

_"MISAO!" '_

The last few moments of the nightmare replayed in his mind, preventing him from laying back down to sleep. He heard rustling from down the hallway and bolted out of bed. He flung the door open and started to run down the hallway.

THUD!

Aoshi tripped on a broom laying in the hallway. 'Damn it…' he thought. Disillusioned, he picked up the broom and sat on the floor next to the door of Misao's room. He slid it open a fraction of an inch, letting him sneak a peek at the sleeping Misao.

He breathed a sigh of relief. 'She's here. She's alright'. He slid the door closed. "I'm sorry Misao…" he whispered as he leaned up against the broom. 'This is really unlike me… I never did this before, Not even when she was a child…why am I doing it now?' His eyes became heavy and drifted asleep.

Omasu appeared at the opposite end of the hallway. The thud had alarmed, and sent her running down the hallway. She chuckled to see Aoshi curled up with the broom. The curious position that resembled Kenshin's, was confusing to her; especially right outside Misao's room. She smiled lightly and returned to her room.

--

Misao yawned and stretched out on the futon. 'Is it morning already?' she thought as she turned over. The sun was just peaking up over the horizon; spreading light and warmth to the earth. She groaned, and wasn't ready to get up yet. She rolled over on her side, letting the sun shine on her face. 'Maybe this will help me get up this morning…'

On the other side of the door, Aoshi slowly opened his eyes just before Okina woke him.

"What are you doing here, Aoshi? Okina asked inquisitively. "And why are you cuddling with a broom?" His sly look came into his eyes.

Aoshi winced at Okina's voice. He felt like death warmed over. "Okina…." He realized that he was hugging the broom, and used it to help him stand.

"Are you alright?" He asked, noticing that Aoshi was not his skillful self, he seemed more clumsy and disillusioned than normal.

"I couldn't sleep…" Aoshi said wearily.

"Is that the reason why you are curled up with a broom outside of Misao's room?" Okina slyly grinned.

He was not amused. His emotionless facial expression returned to his face. He turned, walking down the hallway.

"I can see that you got cold feet Aoshi, but then again I don't know how Misao would've reacted to you if you approached her in such a manner." Okina teased.

It took every ounce of Aoshi's self control not to turn around and throw the broom at the licentious old man. "I'm going to my room…" Aoshi leaned the broom against the wall and proceeded down the hallway.

Misao couldn't help but to listen to the muffled conversation that was taking place on the other side of the wall. 'Aoshi was here? Why?' She got up and ran to the door to see what was going on. She slid it open. "What's going on?" She asked, she was still tired, but forcefully inquisitive.

Okina giggled.

"JIYA! What's going on?" Misao reached for her kuni.

"Oh, nothing my pretty Misao…it's just Aoshi" Okina looked at her slyly.

"Aoshi-sama?…Is there something wrong with him?" Misao asked as she spotted Aoshi retreating into his sanctuary.

Misao sighed, and started her trek to the bathhouse. She suddenly remembered the letter from Okira. "Oh, I almost forgot! I have to get moving!" She ran to the bathhouse and jumped right into the cold bathwater. "BRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

When he returned to his room, Aoshi sat down on his futon, his head in his hand. He had a pounding headache. 'Misao…' He thought. The nightmare was replaying once again in his head. After a while, he decided to go search for some pain reliever in the kitchen.

Misao had finished her bath, and was getting dressed. The cold bathwater helped to wake her up. "I hate cold water..." she grumbled as she slipped into her ninja outfit. Her mind slowly drifted to the previous night. She blushed. 'Aoshi would come with me…if I let him. But he's not ready for a mission like this. It wouldn't be right for me to risk his life…' She blushed. 'but he did have a concerned look in his eyes last night.' She let a smile spread across her face as she tied her obi.

Okon was standing in the kitchen, washing a few dishes. She curiously looked up at Aoshi, who was staggering into the kitchen. "Late night?" She teased.

"…." Aoshi looked at her, trying to regain his balance.

Okon looked concerned at the former Okashira. "Ok, Who put sake into your system last night?" She placed her hands on her hips.

"Do you really think its necessary to mock me right now?" Aoshi attempted to glare at her, but he was leaning on the counter, trying not to fall down. Unfortunately, the glare held no potency.

Okon looked at him with annoyance at first, then with concern. "Are you alright?"

"No, I'm just fine" He said, straitening up, glaring at her.

"My goodness, what is wrong?" she asked.

Aoshi winced at her voice and placed his hand on his head. "I have a headache."

Shiro opened the door, allowing more light into the room. Aoshi backed into the shadows.

Okon looked for a moment at Aoshi, then walked over to him, and placed her hand on his forehead. She gasped. "You have a fever, and by the way you are acting, it seems as if you have a migraine. She pushed him out of the kitchen. "You go to your room, and I'll get you some medicine."

Aoshi nodded and complied. He turned to go down the hallway when something knocked him flat on his back. His head hit the floor, which didn't help. He tried to block out the pain, and looked up at what knocked him over.

"Oh, I'm sorry Aoshi-sama" Misao giggled.

His ice blue eyes met with her hazel eyes. He groaned.

Misao looked up at him, confused. "What's wrong Aoshi-sama?!" she yelled

He picked his hand up and placed it on his forehead. "Could you please be a little quieter?" He managed to squeak out.

Misao looked at him with total concern. "Ok, what is wrong?" She whispered, still on top of him.

"I have a migraine…" Aoshi stated, and tried to lift himself up. He really felt uneasy with her on top of him.

"Oh…" Misao jumped off of him. 'this is just great …The morning I have to leave, and Aoshi has to retreat to a dark area to meditate to get rid of a migraine'

Aoshi laid on the floor, still wincing in pain. "…."

"I'm sorry Aoshi-sama…" Misao realized how much pain he was in, and tried to help him up.

Aoshi leaned precariously on Misao's shoulders, and they walked to his room.

When they arrived, Misao looked curiously around his room, His futon was in a state of disarray, and his pillow was flung on the other side of the room. She maneuvered to throw the blanket off of the futon, and to pick up the pillow, while keeping Aoshi leaning on her. She placed the pillow back on the futon and helped him lay down on it. She carefully covered Aoshi with his blanket, closing the door to leave them in darkness.

"Misao…" Aoshi weakly called.

"I'm going to go get you a cold washcloth" She whispered, and carefully walked over to the door, trying not to make any noise.

"Misao…" Aoshi called.

"Hai Aoshi-sama?" She whispered, kneeling down next to him, barely hearing his call.

"Arigato…" He managed to so say.

"You're welcome, Aoshi-sama" She gently smiled and turned toward the door.

Misao closed the door as quietly as she possibly could, and carefully walked for a few steps as she began to sprint to the well.

She noticed that Okon was there, ringing out a cloth.

"What's that for?" Misao asked

Okon looked up at her. "It's for Aoshi…"

"Oh…Can I take it to him?" Misao asked. "I told him I would."

Okon let a smile across her face. "Alright…" She handed Misao the cloth and the medicine. "Have him take this too."

"Arigato" Misao took the cloth and the medicine and started to run.

"You're the only one Misao…" Okon said as she disappeared around the opposite side of the house.

"What? What do you mean by that Okon?" Misao said as she turned around. Okon was gone. Misao looked around for her, then went running back to Aoshi.

Aoshi lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, while his head continued to throb. 'Misao has to leave today…'His stomach turned, making him feel nauseous.

Just then, he heard her out side of the door. "Misao…"

Misao slowly opened the door and walked over toward Aoshi. "Aoshi-sama?" She whispered.

"Aa" He managed to say.

"I have some medicine for you…" She kneeled down at his head, lifting it slightly, sliding her knees under his head, giving him a better angle to swallow the medicine. Misao brushed his midnight black bangs to the sides of his face, and then proceeded to mix the medicine with the water, deluding it enough so it would slide down easier.

He looked curiously up at her. 'She may be the Okashira, and she would've done this for any of the Oniwaban members, but why does this make me feel so…'

She turned to look back at Aoshi, who was staring up at her with amazement. Misao was too concerned for him to think about it too much at that point. "Are you ready for this?" She whispered, placing the cup of deluded medicine in her right hand, brushing her left against his cheek.

"Aa" He said as he reached for the cup that Misao had in her hand. He carefully lifted his head a bit more so it wouldn't spill. He used his elbow to prop himself up, but he was a bit shaky.

Misao leaned forward, still on her knees, making it possible that Aoshi could lean on her slightly.

Aoshi noticed that Misao had moved closer, making it easier on him.

A bitter look crossed his face as he slowly sipped the medicine. He handed the cup back to her, attempting to lay back down slowly. If it weren't for her leaning against him, his head would've hit the floor.

"…Misao?" Aoshi asked, gazing up at her.

"Hai, Aoshi-sama?" She asked

"….I…uh…Arigato"

She smiled, and leaned slightly forward, gazing into his icy blue ones. "You're welcome"

He could feel concern radiating from her body, and closed his eyes.

She timidly brushed her hand across his cheek.

He opened his eyes slightly, and started to move his hand up to her face.

BAM BAM BAM BAM!

He quickly retreated his hand from a few inches proximity to her face, and placed it over his eyes.

She quickly turned to the door. "SHHHHHHHHHH!" She hissed.

The Door Flew open, with a man standing in the doorway with a Oniwaban uniform on and sweat drenched brow.

"OKASHIRA!" He yelled

"…"

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**To be Continued...**


	6. Surprise Visitor

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Rurouni Kenshin or any of it's components.**I DO own Okyta and Okira! They are MINE!

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A/N I am SOO sorry that It took me so long to update. I forgot that I had to work this past weekend -.-; GOMEN NASAI! (I'm sorry). I've been chewing on this chapter for the last week, and struggled with a case of severe writer's block. Once Again, I am soo sorry that I didn't update when I said I would. **HUGE HUGS TO THE REVIEWERS! **I will respond to ALL of them in an Afterward once the story is complete. Thanks again guys and gals! You rock!

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**EDITED: 4/3/07 **I've been very appreciative of all of the reviews, suggestions, and inquiries. I have responded to a few of them when the questions between the Aoshi/Okira dynamic started to come onto the scene. I have since changed the spelling of Okaita's name, because I was spelling it wrong for how I wanted it to sound. (Thank you Japanese class!). In terms of an afterward, I am planning on doing one, which will include liner notes, what music inspired me, other snip-bits and writings, and possibly outtakes (there have been times in this story that I've wanted to write something else that would be more humorous, but didn't fit). But, all that comes AFTER the Epilogue (which I started writing last May). I also realized that in coming back in chapter 7, I stopped the disclaimers, but I think everyone got the point. But I will say again, Okaita, Okira and Shinpachi (Chapter 10) are MY characters.

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**Chapter 6: Surprise Visitor**

The man stood in the doorway, out of breath and covered in sweat. He looked as if he were in his early fifties, with raven black hair and gray eyes. He looked at Misao, Aoshi and keeled down to the ground. "Gomen Nasai, Okashira"

Misao looked worriedly at Aoshi, who was wincing in pain from the light coming in from the doorway and the noise. "Okaita, meet me in the kitchen, I will be there soon." She kept her volume down, but her voice still rang with authority.

"Aa. I am so sorry about this Okashira" he said as he stood up and closed the door.

"Misao…" Aoshi called.

"Hai, Aoshi-sama?" She whispered. "There is no need to worry, I will say goodbye before I leave for Yokohama."

His stomach turned. He knew the danger she was about to face, and wanted to protect her from the harm that may ensue given the situation. He couldn't help the look of true concern that was reflecting in his eyes, even hidden in his hand. He placed his hand onto his forehead, knowing that if he tried to convince her to let him go with her, it wouldn't be conducive with his migraine; and his state since the nightmare. He would have to trust Okaita, and the rest of the Yokohama Oniwaban post. A chill ran down his spine as he reached for the damp cloth, which was just out of his reach.

She placed the damp cloth on his forehead, covering his eyes. She moved the pillow closer, so when she moved, it wouldn't allow for his head to hit the ground.

"Arigato…" He closed his eyes, trying to relax; his head as still at a slight angle in Misao's lap from the receiving of the medicine.

"You're welcome, Aoshi-sama. But I must see what has Okaita in such a hurry."

Aoshi didn't want her to go. Her presence was oddly comforting to him.

Misao took Aoshi's head in her hand, and lifted it up slightly, using the other to slide the pillow temporarily underneath his neck. She carefully swung her legs to the side, placing the pillow under his head, and gently placed it down. She bushed his bangs out of his eyes. "I'll be back soon" She whispered in his ear before she carefully stood up and started to walk over to the door.

He slowly and partially opened his eyes, peeking out of a space that the cloth wasn't over them, listening to her as she walked over to the door.

She quietly and carefully opened the door just enough to let herself out, if she squeezed through. She turned back to her Aoshi-sama, with a look of concern. 'I'd hate to leave him like this…But, I know that he will be taken care of while I'm gone, and there is no risk of him getting killed because of me. Hannya and the others gladly did it for him, but I won't let it happen again.' She slid through the door, silently closed it and continued to carefully walk down the hallway.

Okaita made his entrance into the busy kitchen, cheerfully greeting Kuro, Shiro, Okon, and Omasu.

"Okaita, What are you doing here?" Shiro asked, happy to see him.

"Official business, things have gone from bad to worse; and the drug dealers are starting to make foreigners prime targets, I am here to pick up Misao."

"Oh, No! The government must be concerned plus if foreigners get drugged, then our relationships with the West are going to suffer." Omasu chimed in.

"It's true. By the way, what has happened to Aoshi? I can see that Misao has quite a concern for him, what is going on? It was a shock to hear that she took over the Okashira position."

"He is down with a migraine…" Okon said.

"Oh? And he's let Misao by his side?" Okaita chuckled at the thought. He hadn't seen Her in almost eleven years. "Is she still the noisy rambunctious young one that she was a while back?"

"With her declaration of the title, it has made her grow up a bit. She takes his lunch to him every day, and through doing that, he has softened slightly from his razor sharp self. When he fought Kenshin the second time, Misao seemed to be the only living member that he still held onto, and Kenshin used that to help him see the light, coming back to us. She refuses to give up on him, and by that determination, she has been helping him come back to the man that we all knew. If any of us tried to do the same, the results wouldn't be quite as effective. I am uncertain whether or not Aoshi realizes this." Okina said as he stood in the door way, glaring at Okaita.

"Okina, I'm glad to see that you are doing well!" Okaita said, with a sly smile.

Okon and Omasu returned to the dining area to tend to the customers, Kuro and Shiro turned back to the food and dishes.

"Are you here to fetch Misao?" Okina asked the slightly younger man.

"Yes. We need her as soon as possible. Things are getting worse in Yokohama." Okaita said."Having any luck with the ladies Okina?"

"Humph. Just because you are younger doesn't automatically mean that I can't pick up my own share." Okina scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Okaita joked "Its just that the ladies usually prefer a younger man to an older one!"

"Older means the more experience" Okina countered.

"But that doesn't mean anything when you don't have the energy!" Okaita teased.

Misao walked in just as Okina started to glare at Okaita. "What is going on here?"

"Okashira!" Okaita exclaimed, breaking Okina's glare.

"Eh? Jiya, knock it off, he is our guest, and Oniwaban member, so, you should treat him as such" She said, breaking the tension.

"Humph." Okina stated, turning to the dining area. Okaita and Okina were close friends at one point, but due to the enjoyment of the fair sex, and rivalry between them, they drifted apart. They have a few years difference, but time sided with Okaita, and he had aged more gracefully than Okina. The former Okashira had separated the two of them, due to a lack in productivity.

"What are you here for? Has something happened in Yokohama?" Misao asked.

"Wow, Misao. You have certainly grown since I that little 5 year old that I remember."

She blushed, but she was currently more interested in why Okaita was here. "Okaita…What is going on?"

"You've really changed, became much more serious than that little girl that chased Aoshi and Okira around."

"There will be plenty of time to get caught up later. What has happened? Stop Stalling." Misao really wanted to return to Aoshi's side, and if it was something small she would think about pinning Okaita to the wall with her kuni because it took her away from her beloved Aoshi-sama.

"I'm sorry Okashira, I shouldn't have tried to get caught up when your determination to be by Aoshi's side is firm, and in the impending problem in Yokohama." he said, bowing to her.

"That's alright Okaita. Now, what has you running to the Aoiya?" Misao smiled. Her thoughts were dark and heavy as she thought about the mission and her poor Aoshi-sama.

"Things have gone from bad to worse. The group has spread its reach deeper into Yokohama and started to target foreigners. If this gets out and continues; Japan's relations with the Western powers are greatly going to suffer. Okira and I have our hands full trying to track down the specific source. We need your help."

"Man, it MUST be serious if you and Okira are having trouble." Misao was shocked. Okaita had been a part of the Oniwaban, and in charge of the Yokohama post for at least 30 years. Okira was a childhood prodigy like Aoshi, but she lacked the leadership capability, and therefore wasn't in the running for the Okashira position. She was the main undercover ninja for the Oniwaban for at least a decade, and no one besides the Oniwaban knew she exists which helped keep her cover.

"I sent Okira out on a mission to gather information in my absence, as well as run the shop." Like the Aoiya, the Benri Monogato was a local shop in Yokohama that the post used as its cover.

"I'm sure she'll dig up something." Misao said.

"Misao-sama, Please, We desperately need you in Yokohama. Can you pack your things and we can start later this evening?" Okaita was on the ground, bowing to Misao.

Misao sighed. This was important, and really big, but her heart was full of concern for Aoshi. "We'll leave in the morning. I want to make sure Aoshi will be alright."

"Aa. I understand, Okashira."

"Please, don't hesitate to get comfortable for the night and take a bath. You must be tired from the journey."

Okaita stood and faced Misao. "Domo Arigato Misao-sama" He said slyly and turned toward the Aoiya dining area.

"Be nice Okaita" Misao warned, with a smile. She knew with Okaita around, Okina wouldn't bug her too badly about Aoshi. She turned to walk back to Aoshi's room.

_"AOSHI!" Misao screamed as she ran._

_Aoshi didn't know what to think. He blurted out "GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE MISAO!" but his cry was not heard over one specific sound..._

_GlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlattaGlatta_

_"MISAO!"_

_She fell into Aoshi, with a bullet lodged in her side._

_"Aoshi?" She asked weakly_

_He looked at her, with unshed tears in his eyes._

_"MISAO!"_

* * *

To Be Continued...

(Soon...I promise! Cross my heart, hope to die, stick Aoshi's kodachi in my eye...I will get back on track)

4/3/08 - So…I've since recovered from the whole "kodachi in the eye" incident, and I still have good enough vision to continue writing and correcting. 'I just _had_ to do that'


	7. Hesitation

**Authors Notes: This needed HEAVY revision once I figured out where the story was going. So Here we go again.

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**Chapter 7: Hesitation **

Misao heard Aoshi and bolted to his room. She carefully, but forcefully opened the shoji to reveal Aoshi squirming on his futon.

"MISAO!" Aoshi yelled out.

Misao walked carefully over to Aoshi, making sure that his kodachis were on the other side of the room. She kneeled down beside his futon, and carefully placed her hand on his.

He woke up suddenly and almost jumped out of bed. "Misao?" He was confused. Sweat was running down his face, and his icy, panic filled eyes met her sea-foam hazel, concern filled ones, which were beginning to tear up.

"Aoshi-sama…" Misao hesitated.

Aoshi sighed in relief. Misao was alright. He regained his composure and laid back on his futon.

"Are you alright?" Misao asked, her voice was wavering while filled with concern.

"…" Aoshi relaxed on the futon. Internally, he was trying to shake off the horrible images of the

nightmare.

_Misao fell into Aoshi, with a bullet lodged in her side._

"_Aoshi?" Misao asked weakl_

_Aoshi looked at Misao, with unshed tears in his eyes. "Misao…"_

"Aoshi-sama?" Misao was beyond worried as she looked at her beloved Aoshi-sama.

Misao's voice had snapped Aoshi back to Kyoto, the Aoiya, and her. He looked at her, and noticed that her hand was on top of his. Internally he smiled. His eyes eventually met hers, and his heart nearly broke at the sight of tears in Misao's eyes. He sighed. She was alright, safe and sound.

Misao was relieved to see Aoshi come back to the present from his nightmare. Her heart was still filled with sorrow as she thought to the impending mission. "I…have to….leave…"

Aoshi's heart fell within his chest. Aoshi looked up concernedly up at Misao. "Be careful on your way." 'If only I could go with you…to make sure you're alright'

Misao looked at him almost in amazement "I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I want to make sure you're alright before I leave."

Aoshi looked up at her, confused. 'Does she care for me this much? To delay her trip so she can make sure I'm alright?' "Okaita then…."

"He's here to pick me up. He suggested that we leave this evening, however, I wanted to make sure that you were alright before I left."

"Arigato Misao."

She looked around the room, and placed her hand on Aoshi's forehead, the washcloth was warm. "I'll get this cool for you again…"

"…Arigato" Aoshi could finally use the majority of his eye sight since the cloth only let him peek out of a small crack.

"Don't fall asleep on me" She joked.

"…"

She slid the shoji open and slipped out. 

Aoshi continued to stare at the ceiling, letting his thoughts pass though his mind. It then dawned on him that if Okaita was in Kyoto, then who was keeping an eye on things in Yokohama? Okaita wouldn't have just left the post without someone to keep an eye on things. 'Okira…' He broke out in a cold sweat as he nearly jumped out of bed. The sounds, sights and smells of their last meeting painful memory of their last meeting flooded his mind. He held his head in his hand, as waves of sadness and despair crashed against him. The entire incident was overshadowed in his mind by the Kanryuu Affair, and was just brought to mind after Kenshin's Jinchuu. His heart was in turmoil, for he didn't know whether or not Okira survived it. He didn't think about it at the time, but she had what he thought was a severe injury, and deep down, he thought she was dead. The worst part about it, it was his fault.

Misao slid open the shoji and walked carefully in. She looked at him, heart breaking for she had never seen him in such open anguish. She watched carefully, as she saw a single tear slide down his face.

"Aoshi-sama?" she spoke softly.

He opened his eyes, wiping his hand across the opposite side of his face, trying to wipe away the tear. Inhaling deeply, he laid back down on the futon. "Hai, Misao?"

"Are you alright?" She came in and sat next to his futon.

He didn't answer her. She may have brought his mind back to Kyoto from the outskirts of Tokyo, but relieved none of the stress.

She placed the washcloth upon his forehead. The room air seemed thick with worry and sadness. Misao tuned into it, wondering what she could do. "Don't worry about me Aoshi-sama, Okaita will be escorting me to Yokohama, and I'm sure that the contacts will help in this case as well.

He nodded, as his mind attempted to switch gears to the current issue of Misao leaving.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

He turned his head to look at her, "No, thank you." Closing his eyes once again, the cool cloth was helping with the pain, and relieve him of a fever.

"You're welcome." She felt horrible. She slowly turned and stood.

"Misao?"

"Yes, Aoshi-sama?"

"Where are you going?"

"I was going to go get Okon to look after you. You need your rest, and I don't think that…"

"Please, stay." Misao's presence was oddly soothing to his soul at this moment. She knew nothing of his last meeting with Okira, and her presence at the end of Okina and his battle solidified Okira's death, since she was supposed to keep Misao away from him.

"I will. But, I need to pack for the journey tomorrow…"

'Don't remind me…' He thought.

"I'll go get Okon to look after you while I pack. I will be back soon…I promise" She smiled at her Aoshi-sama and slid through the shoji.

Misao sighed and ran toward the kitchen. "OKON!"

"What is it Misao?" Okon said as she ran out of the kitchen.

"Can you keep and eye on Aoshi-sama while I pack?"

"Sure. I just think that he'd rather have you there."

"You think so?" Misao's heart nearly flew.

"I'm positive" Okon said with a smile.

Misao sighed. "I'm only going to pack, and then I will go back."

"Sounds good, See you in a little bit."

Misao smiled and ran towards her room.

Okon smiled and walked towards Aoshi's room. She stopped at her own first to grab a book. 'Might as well bring something with me…' She walked down the hallway to Aoshi's room.

When Okon arrived at Aoshi's room, she knocked quietly, waiting for a signal to allow her to come in.

"Come in." Aoshi said from the other side of the shoji.

Aoshi had hoped that it was Misao, but Okon appeared in the doorway.

Okon slipped quietly into the room and closed the shoji behind her.

Aoshi closed his eyes. Okon might not be Misao, but for a moment, she helped him get his mind off of Misao's departure and his last meeting with Okira.

Okon silently walked over to his futon and sat beside him.

Aoshi reopened his eyes, and stared up at the ceiling through the crack, meditating.

Back at her room, Misao darted this way and that throwing her clothes into a pile on her futon. She was carefully shoving everything into her pack, trying to make sure there was enough room for everything.

Just then, she heard a knock on the door….

* * *

A/N Stay tuned!


	8. Apprehension

**Authors Notes: I apologize for taking a 2 1/2 year sabattical. Life has been very hectic as of late, but I hope that I will be able to keep up with weekly submissions. Please forgive me for being away for so long.

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**Chapter 8: Apprehension **

"Come in!" Misao said cheerfully.

Okaita carefully slid the door open. "Okashira, I just received a letter from Okira…"

"Well, What does it say Okaita?"

"Here." He handed her the letter.

Misao timidly reached for it, reading it carefully:

_Okaita: I have found the location of the drug dealer's hideout. However, it is not going to be easy to get to. Their plan is going to go into effect within a week, and it could be disastrous. I'm barely able to keep up with everything that is going on here. I need help. I sent a couple of train tickets for you and Misao to come to Yokohama. Things are getting dangerous. The drug dealer's pawns are testing their plan on unsuspecting citizens, and are getting jobs in the nearby restaurants. This could destroy our foreign relations if we let it go any farther! See you soon! -Okira _

Misao was starting to get a headache from the entire situation. "When are the tickets set for?"

"First thing tomorrow morning, are you packed?" Okaita was starting to get worried for Okira.

"Yeah…" Misao said sadly. Aoshi might not be up by the time she had to go. "I'm going back to look after Aoshi. Please have everything ready for the journey tomorrow."

"As you wish, Misao" He said, bowing before leaving for the kitchen.

She continued to shove everything possible into her pack. She had a bit of trouble trying to tie it shut with everything in the pack. When she finally got it tied shut, she set it back down on the floor next to her futon.

She stood up from her place on the floor, stretching out. It was all starting to hit her. Aoshi was sick, Okira was in trouble, and Okaita was making the arrangements for the journey ahead. Her cheerful disposition was starting to fade into the depths of her concern and worry over Aoshi, and the impending mission. Waves of anxiety crashed into her. She struggled to hold back her tears, as she walked toward her door.

She slid the door open slightly, revealing Okina and Okaita in another spat. Rolling her eyes, she continued down the corridor to Aoshi's room.

Okon was sitting silently by Aoshi's side reading her book, he was staring at the ceiling, meditating to the best of his ability. The headache continually throbbing, he was desperately trying to block out Misao's departure and his last meeting with Okira.

Misao slowly slid the door open, trying not to disturb Okon and Aoshi, but both turned and faced in her direction. She slid the door closed behind her and gracefully sat down next to Okon.

Okon nodded, and stood to leave.

Aoshi turned back to stare up at the ceiling. Misao was usually calming to his soul, however with her departure staring him in the face, it was harder to find peace. Okon had helped him to keep his mind off of things. However, he could sense that something was wrong. Her ki was strange, something he had never seen before. Usually just having her there was soothing to his soul, but this was different.

Misao watched Okon slip through the door, and quietly closed it.

"Aoshi-sama…?" Misao whispered.

"Yes…?"

"Can I get you anything?" Misao's voice was wavering, as she remembered that she had yelled at Aoshi earlier that morning.

Aoshi turned slightly to look at her. He noticed the amount of unshed tears in her eyes. Something was desperately wrong. He could feel it, and sense that something was hurting her. "What's wrong, Misao?"

"Eh?…"

Aoshi couldn't do anything to hide the concern within him.

Misao was taken aback by the question. "Nothing, Aoshi-sama." She answered as she plastered a fake smile across her face.

"Liar."

"Ok, fine. I am worried about you, and the mission. Okaita received a letter from Yokohama earlier, and it said that the diabolical plan of the drug dealers will go into effect within a week. Also, I am leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Yokohama."

"I see."

"Can I get you anything?"

"Can you get me a glass of water and medicine?"

She smiled. Bowing slightly, she placed her hand on his washcloth again. It was room temperature, and decided to do that as well on her run. She kneeled down to Aoshi's ear. "I'll be right back Aoshi-sama."

"Arigato, Misao."

Misao picked up the washcloth, and headed for the door. Aoshi's blue eyes followed her out as she disappeared in the hallway.

'If only I could make sure that she would be alright…' He thought as he turned to look up at the ceiling.

Okaita was helping out in the kitchen to Okina's displeasure. Kuro and Shiro were busy with orders and the dishes while Okon and Omasu worked with the guests in the dining area.

Misao appeared in the doorway, and she observed the sight. Okina and Okaita were still acting like children, which made it difficult on everyone. She gracefully flowed through the kitchen to the cupboard and pulled out two cups. She took out the medicine and put into the bottom of one, and placed both of them on a tray with the washcloth.

Okaita looked at her in amazement. 'She certainly has grown up since the last time I saw her.'

Misao turned and walked out of the kitchen and towards the well.

Aoshi stared up at the ceiling, thinking to himself. His thoughts were flooded with the Kanryuu affair, Okira's meeting, Misao's departure and his nightmare. All of which were agony. Meditating helped him calm down a little bit. He trusted Okaita to take care of Misao, but the situation made him uneasy. It had been a long day, and with Misao leaving the next morning, he just wanted to enjoy her presence when she was there.

Misao had gotten everything around for her beloved Aoshi-sama, and was heading back to his room. The sun was setting, leaving brilliant orange streaks across the sky. She wished that Aoshi could see it. She slid the door of Aoshi's room open, and quietly walked across the floor to his side.

Aoshi flinched at the incoming light. "Misao…"

Misao looked behind her and noticed she left the door open. "I'm sorry Aoshi-sama" She walked over and closed it, leaving them in near darkness.

Misao sat back down by Aoshi's side and placed the washcloth over his forehead. "There is a really pretty sunset out there right now." She whispered.

"Is there?"

"Yeah, I wish you could see it."

He continued to stare at the ceiling, almost wishing he could see the colors in the sky.

"Would you like your medicine right now Aoshi-sama?" She asked, lifting one of the cups from the tray.

"Yes."

Misao carefully moved to the head of his futon, gently lifting his head off of the pillow. She slid the pillow out of the way, and slid her knees where the pillow was, and gently lowered his head onto them.

Aoshi complied, understanding that it was to help him take his medicine.

She carefully and diligently lifted the cup up to his lips so he could take the medicine easily.

There was a mutual heaviness of concern for each other lingering in the room.

Aoshi sipped down the bitter medicine once again. A slight sour expression crossed his face briefly. He swallowed the remainder of the medicine quickly.

She looked tenderly down at him, brushing his bangs to the side. She took the cup and placed it down by the side of his futon. The weight of the impending mission, and his condition was crushing her.

There was a quiet knock on the door.

Misao picked her head up, inquisitively. "Who's there...?" she said softly.

"It's Okaita..." He said softly.

Misao looked down at Aoshi, who had his eyes closed.

"Come in..." Aoshi said, as he sat up.

Okaita slid the door open, walked in and sat next to his futon. "Lady Misao, you should really get some rest. Okon and Omasu said that they would keep an eye on him tonight, so go get ready for bed. Okon should be down in a bit."

Misao nodded, and replaced Aoshi's pillow so he could lie back down. 'I really want to stay, damn obligations anyway, but I am leaving before dawn...' Misao thought as she helped Aoshi lie back down. "Goodnight Aoshi-sama..." She stood up and walked to the door. 'I wish I didn't have to go...I want to be here, with him...'

"Misao, please...go to bed. You need your strength for tomorrow." Okaita said.

Aoshi nodded. He wanted her to be there, but he could remember several different times that he wanted to stay somewhere while Okashira duties took him away.

Misao nodded and closed the door behind her. "Plesant dreams, Aoshi-sama…" she whispered as she walked down the hallway to her room.

* * *

A/N: To Be Continued. I promise! 


	9. A Plauging Memory

A/N: This is what took me so long to figure out and write. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 9: A Plaguing Memory **

Okaita looked after Aoshi, there was an unsettling silence between the two of them.

Okaita watched over him, but deep within him, he was worried about the impending mission. He had sent Okira on reconnaissance in his absence, and hoped it would be beneficial to the mission. He knew that she was capable, but he never stopped worrying about her. She had grown to be like a daughter to him, and had been concerned since she returned from an escort job the previous spring when she returned with a new scar, and refused to talk about it.

Aoshi felt unusually uneasy around him. He typically stayed with Okaita while he was in town, and checking in on the post. There were many fond memories when he went to visit Yokohama. Most of which were with Okira, but Okaita was always pleasant company. He could sense darkness within Okaita, one that haunted him. Aoshi knew the feeling well. He was recovering from his own darkness of his insanity from the spring. But this puzzled him, Okaita was very laid back for the most part; what could be plaguing him in such a way?

Time passed, and then Okon knocked on the door, and slid the shoji open. Okaita bowed to Aoshi, stood up and bowed to Okon.

Okon sat silently next to Aoshi, placing a cold cloth on his forehead.

Aoshi quietly nodded to acknowledge her, but then stared up at the ceiling, attempting to rest. Eventually he drifted asleep after several hours of trying to stay awake.

_He looked at Misao, unshed tears in his eyes. "MISAO!" He cried out in agony. _

_She weakly opened her eyes long enough to give him a small, weak smile. She reached up to touch his cheek. "I've...been looking...for you...Aoshi-sama..." She said voice weak and wavering. The focus faded from her once bright sea-foam eyes, as her hand fell to her side, hitting the floor. _

_Aoshi held back the tears as best as he could. The sound of the gatling gun echoed through the room, Misao's lifeless body within his arms. 'Kami-sama, please let this be a nightmare.' he thought. The weight of her body was almost too much for him. "I swore...to protect you..." His voice trailed off as he brushed her hair from her face, laying her body down on the floor._

_The room was deathly silent as the bodies of his fallen comrades laid strewn about the ballroom floor; the air was thick with the smell of blood as it stained the floor crimson. He couldn't help but look around the room, as memories of simpler times flooded his memory, and mourning the loss of everyone dear to him. _

_It was then; it dawned on him that one person he held very close was not present. "Okira..." He said, almost calling for her. His eyes darted to the main doorway of the room as it mysteriously closed. The lights were mysteriously being dimmed, leaving him in a dim light with the corpses of his slain friends nearby. _

_He stood, as he tried to make his way to the staircase before the light was completely out. He sat down on the step, as a wash of anger, hatred and mourning crashed against him. He closed his eyes, hoping it was all a nightmare, and that he would wake up soon from the horrific reminder of what happened and what could've happened. _

_He opened his eyes to a pitch black room. The air was cold, stale and damp. The only light was now was from a cloud covered moon and a starless night. The wind howled outside, rattling the windows and the doors creaked as if to answer, trying to open, but was hitting an unseen object. _

_The air was more insipid and clammy than before, and seemed to be getting worse with each passing moment. The clouds parted, allowing the moon's light to allow dancing shadows from the trees onto the floor of the room. They pranced across corpses, with blood colored walls and all seemed vaguely familiar to him. Upon a closer look, he fearfully identified them as those he had killed in the past. They started to call out and moan, and yet stayed lifeless on the floor. Breaking out into a cold sweat, he turned to run up the stairs, only to be faced with more ghoulish faces of those he had slain. The weight of the lives he had taken began to crush him as the smell of rotting flesh filled his senses. Outwardly, he only had a look of shock upon his face, while inwardly he was in a growing sense of panic. _

_Behind him, a luminescent figure stood in the doorway across the room from him. "Aoshi..." it called. _

_His head snapped to the figure. It looked like a female, with an eerie glowing white kimono on, dressed from right to left, in the traditional death style. She slowly seemed to float over the corpses that littered the floor. He feared who or what this could be or mean. He was frozen in terror as the ghostly figure came closer, it's glow casting a frightening shadow upon the lifeless bodies that littered the floor. As the figure came closer, He could start to make out her features. She looked to be in her early twenties, with long hair that was flowing elegantly behind her. "It can't be..." He said, hoping and praying she wasn't who he thought she was. _

_She stopped a few feet in front of him as if wondering if he realized who she was. _

"_Who are you...?" He asked, hoping that the answer he would receive was not the one that he thought it would be. _

_She opened her eyes to reveal the only color on her, a brilliant bright green. _

_Aoshi's blue eyes gazed for a moment into those eyes, as panic swept over him. _

_A crimson stain appeared on her appeared upon her chest, staining the white kimono. _

_Hyperventilating, he cautiously walked closer to her. "I'm sorry..."_

_She smiled, and then disappeared into the darkness, like a firefly. _

"_Wait!" He cried out, as he reached the spot where she was to find no trace of her. _

_The flickering of a candle in the window was all that remained, the room was restored to its original state, and he stood in the middle of the room, alone. _

_-----------------------_

The rain patted against the roof, of the hideout, a growing tension grew within her as she crept along the exterior walls. A dark slender figure dodged from shadow to shadow. She was dressed in black from head to toe with a red tint to her clothes, with a navy blue trim around the edges of her clothes. The only color one would be able to see on her was her green eyes. Even in the pitch blackness of the night, they were visible. She slipped through the doorway, faced only by a sleeping guard, and continued to slip down the hall. The plan was simple, to infiltrate the enemy's hideout and steal the master plan of their attack upon the peace of foreign nations. She quickly came across the room in which the plans were kept. It was dark with occasional lightning casting silhouettes on the wall, with a small desk in the corner of the room. She slipped into the room, sliding against the walls with stealth to reach the desk. She held her breath as she attempted to open the drawer only to find it was locked. She reached into her belt to find a pin and started to pick the lock. To her amazement, it came open easily. Quietly and slowly she opened the drawer to find the carefully laid plans within it. Relieved, she sighed, as she took the plans within her hands. This was an easier mission than she had thought…too easy. 'There's no way that they would just let me in here this easily.'

A light appeared behind her, lighting up the room. 'Just as I thought, it's a trap.' She pulled the plans within her shirt as she turned to face who was behind her.

"Pleasant Evening, Miss Koichi." The man said as he pleasantly sneered at her. "But shouldn't you be enjoying it before you die?" His eyes shown a menacing golden brown. He set down the lamp and drew his sword, which was stained red. The man stood about six feet tall, was muscular, and intimidating, and wore navy colored pants with a black gi top.

She stood, poised to attack, drawing her own blade. "Cut to the chase." Her voice was harsh and icy as she glared at him.

"Ladies First," He quickly replied. "I would like for you to think you have a fighting chance."

"Fine" She growled at him. She started to move toward him, as she reached into her belt once more, drawing out four kunai and placing them in between her fingers. She threw them at him as she ran towards him. Slashing down on his shoulder, she realized that he had all four kunai lodged in his chest, arm, and leg. He wore armor on his shoulder blades, but that was the only place. Spinning around, she drew her other sword, creating a spin of dual-kodachi force. She dropped back to see the damage.

He smiled an intimidating smile. "Impressive, but not good enough."

She sneered. "Oh, and I suppose you think I'm out of ideas?!"

He laughed, walking closer to her. "I suppose you have a trick or two up…your…sleeve…" He said, as the poison from the kunai coursed throughout his body. "You Bitch!" He yelled as he quickly used the last ounce of his energy to slash at her.

She was able to dodge out of the way of the majority of the attack, but it still cut through her leg.

He fell to the ground on his side with a thud.

"Impressed yet?" she said pulling the kunai out of him, placing them back into her belt. She started to walk, but the pain of her injury coursed within her. "Bastard." She said under her breath.

She heard the alarm go off. The supposed sleeping guard had given the signal once he was awoken from the noise in the other room. 'damn…' She thought as she walked toward the exterior door where she was faced with a dozen enemies, poised and ready to attack her. She sighed, and cut her way through the ranks, dodging attacks left and right. She had overcome the pain from the injury through willpower. She swung her sword in a combination of different techniques intermittently using her kunai attacks and kenpo training. She was able to get away quickly after incapacitated them. She used her grace and strengths of her many aliases as she escaped the fortress without further detection, fading into the darkness like a shadow.

She had a bag awaiting her on the outside of the fortress containing a kimono. She found a secluded dark corner before opening the bag. Taking off her hood, she carefully slipped the kimono on over her ninja gear, tying the obi in a simple, yet passable knot, starting to walk around like she was just out for a midnight stroll. However, the under kimono was getting soaked from her wound. She quickly tied it off with her hood until she could get back to the base and take care of it. She walked down the street as if she was having a restless night.

She eventually reached the Benri Montago and went in through the back door where Shinpachi was awaiting her. Thankfully it wasn't a very long walk.

"How'd it go?" Shinpachi asked her.

"I got the plans, and injured at the same time." She said with a smile, bracing herself in the doorway.

Shinpachi looked at her, and the blood was starting to soak through the kimono. "Okaita isn't going to be happy about this." He said as he quickly helped her to her room to check on the injury.

"This looks pretty bad." He said, washing the wound, and taking out a needle and thread to stitch it up. "How are you able to withstand these kinds of injuries?"

"Sheer force of will." She said. "In terms of the plans, the entire thing was a trap."

"Oh?" He said, continuing to administer treatment to her wound.

"…and I don't care what you say about poisoned kunai, this time it worked well to my advantage." She said, in a teasing, but obstinate tone.

Shinpachi stopped briefly from sewing the wound as if something in what she just said struck a painful nerve within him. He shook quickly shook it off, continuing with treating her wound. "Well, at least you're home. Okaita will be glad to hear that. When is he due back?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I am to meet him at the train station. If I can't move very well by that point, can you meet him and Misao?"

"Yeah…."

"We're in about as much danger as we feared. I'm not sure if we can trust the plans, but we may be able to get something out of it."

"If it's a trap then it's assumed that we probably can't trust them…"

"But if they lured us there to kill one of us, then it wouldn't matter if the plans were real or not."

Shinpachi finished stitching up the wound and started to bandage it. "This was about as bad as the one you got last spring, wasn't it?"

Okira froze for a moment. The last time she had this bad of a scrape was the last time she saw Aoshi. She took a deep breath. "No."

Shinpachi looked up at her.

She looked into his eyes "It was much deeper."

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A/N What could the memory be? To Be Continued... 


	10. Departure

**Author's notes:** Thank you for your continued support. I really appreciate the readers and those kind enough to leave a review. I will not be able to do this weekly, but I will do my best to update every other week or so. Thanks again, and Happy Reading!

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**Chapter 10: Departure**

Aoshi awoke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. He was curled up into a ball, clinging tightly to his blanket, with tears and sweat running down his face. Looking up, he saw an exhausted Okon nearly asleep at his side. He straitened himself upon the futon, lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. He placed his arm across his forehead, attempting to relax, pondering what it could mean.

It plagued him that Misao was leaving in a few hours for Yokohama, and strangely, so did the memory of Okira earlier in the day. The whole situation didn't settle with him in the slightest, but attempted to go back to sleep anyway.

He laid there for hours, tossing and turning. As first light appeared through the shoji, he finally drifted back asleep.

Okaita wandered up the hallway to wake Misao up. He slowly opened the door to see the young lady sleeping peacefully on her futon. "My lady Misao…." He called.

Misao slowly opened her eyes. "Is it time already?" she asked, wearily rubbing her eyes and straightening her yukata.

He smiled, nodding. "Yes, it is. The train leaves in about half an hour, so please get ready."

Misao shook her head. She had half a mind to lie back down to continue sleeping. However, her conscience reminded her that it was her duty to go on this mission. She sighed, and reluctantly started to fold her futon.

Okaita excused himself to allow for her to get dressed and ready.

Misao changed into her ninja uniform, and tied her long hair back into her long braid. She picked up her bag which she had packed earlier with extra kuni, reports, clothes and such, and walked down the hallway in a daze. She mindlessly packed a few snacks and met Okaita at the door.

"Are you ready?" He said.

She snapped awake, as if she didn't have a clue until now what was really happening. "Just a sec, I forgot something!" as she dashed back into the Aoiya.

She quietly opened the door to reveal Aoshi, sleeping soundly on his futon. She smiled, happy that he seemed to be doing better, it gave her a little peace about leaving for Yokohama. She closed the door behind her, and walked back to Okaita at the entryway.

He waited for her at the front door with the train tickets in hand. "Are you ready now, Misao?"

"Yes, I just needed to check on something real quick. Have you heard any recent news from Okira?" She said calmly as they started walking to the station.

"None since yesterday, and with Okira, there is two ways that you can take that: there isn't any or she is dead." Okaita joked.

Misao didn't know how to take the comment. "I hope it's the first one…."

Okaita laughed. "In all the years I have been around Okira, she knows how to take care of herself. You needn't worry about that."

With everything else plaguing her mind, the last thing she needed was Okira's death. Also, even though Aoshi was sleeping calmly, she still worried about his condition. "Don't kid around with stuff like that! That's the last thing I need!"

"I'm sorry, Okashira. I shouldn't be joking at a time like this. There is already too much on your young mind." He said grievingly.

"I am SIXTEEN years old, I'll be fine. I've grown up." She said in an irritated tone. He was lucky that he didn't get kunai flung at him for that.

A long silence came over them. Okaita thought it be best that he didn't say anything unless she asked him something. She was thinking about Aoshi, the mission, and seeing Okira again. This would be the first time that she saw her since she was running all over Japan looking for Aoshi. There was always a mutual jealousy between them. Misao had been jealous of Okira because she was extremely close to Aoshi from their childhood up until he had gone mad. She was Misao's link to Aoshi when she was looking for him. Okira was always jealous of Misao because Aoshi was sworn to protect her when she was a child. Misao had always wondered if Okira had told her the location only as they were leaving on purpose. Needless to say, there was tension between them. However, this was Misao's first mission working with Okira since she became Okashira, and she knew that she was serious about missions.

"All Aboard!" The conductor called, snapping Misao out of her train of thought.

"Can I take your bag, Okashira?" Okaita asked.

"Eh? Yes, thank you." She climbed aboard and took a seat next to the window.

Okaita joined her after he situated the bags. "Are you alright? You seem preoccupied."

"I'm alright. Just thinking about the mission, and what trouble we may run into." She stared out the window.

Okaita sat down beside her. "You know, she's looking forward to seeing you again. I realize there is tension between you, but Okira is too preoccupied with the mission. She will serve you well, despite the jealousy between you."

"Yeah, I suppose so." She responded in a daze.

"Anyway, try to get some rest. I'm sure that Okira will have a packet of tactical and mission information to read once you get there." He said smiling.

"Yeah, I'll bet" Misao said as she gazed back out the window.

The sun rose from the horizon, painting the sky with hues of pink and orange. The train ride would get them in Yokohama in time to actually make a plan of action. Misao eventually fell asleep while listening to the chugging of the train. Okaita was re-reading over Okira's last note, trying to prepare himself for the additional information that she gathered on the mission he sent her on the previous night.

Yokohama was bustling and full of activity. Misao was asleep when they pulled into the station. Okaita gently shook her. "Okashira, we're here."

Misao wearily opened her eyes. "We're there already?"

"Yes. Come on, I'll get our bags." Okaita reached for them overhead, and guided Misao off of the train.

"Okira should be around here somewhere..." Okaita said, looking around for her.

Misao didn't know if Okira was in disguise or not, but she walked around the station with Okaita in hopes of finding her.

The station was as busy as could be expected, and it was difficult to try to locate one person in such a crowd.

"Hello Okaita! Nice to see you!" A young man said standing on the street waiting for them. "And who's that with you?!"

Misao looked at the man. He stood at five foot, eight inches or so with jet black hair and brown eyes. 'Okira...?' she thought. Okira was a master of disguise, but she never knew that she could impersonate a man.

"Hello Shinpachi!" Okaita called out. "How are you doing this fine day?" He said with a smile. He sensed there was something wrong for Shinpachi to come instead of Okira, but continued as if nothing was amiss. Shinpachi led them as they walked down the busy street

"Just fine. Who is with you Okaita?" He asked. "Pretty girl, you always have the luck!"

Misao was confused. It didn't sound like Okira, nor act like her.

"She is my niece, here to visit for a little while. Be nice to her." Okaita said.

Misao knew that Okaita telling Shinpachi that she was his niece was a security measure. Yokohama was a hot spot for foreigners and spies, and thus with the drug problem, it was wise to keep her true identity quiet in public.

"Oh, I will" Shinpachi said with a sly smile as they turned down the ally way.

"Hello Okashira, Okaita. I am here on Okira's behalf." He said once they were in the ally.

"What has happened to her?" Okaita said. "She wouldn't send anyone else unless something was wrong." He said with a hint of hysteric panic laced within his voice. Okira had been like a daughter to him, and he didn't want to see her hurt.

"She's alright, but exhausted. She ran into some of the drug lord's goons last night. She has mild injuries, but should recover in the next couple of days. She has a report on the counter in the back for you Misao."

Misao hadn't seen Shinpachi in years, and didn't recognize him. He had found a nice living working in construction after the revolution. However, he had always kept his ties with the Oniwaban, working with Okaita and Okira when it was absolutely necessary.

When they reached the door of the shop, and Shinpachi excused himself. Okaita had beads of sweat on his brow, worried about Okira. Misao followed, finding the packet of information that Okira had left for her. Okaita showed Misao to the office where she could review the information. Misao looked into the packet to reveal names, places, targets, and objectives of the group that is known as the Kenjindan. They were revolutionaries that never gave up hope of expelling the foreigners. Their targets were restaurants frequented by foreign council members in the area. They were running experiments on normal citizens to make sure that they received the desired affect. She finally understood the full meaning of Okira and Okaita's desire for her to be there. Times were dire indeed.

Okaita went to check on Okira before he went to work in the shop. Opening the door, he revealed her, wearing a sky blue kimono, and writing at a small desk in the corner of the room.

"I'm glad to see that your injuries aren't keeping you from doing your job, Okira." He said with a smile.

"Why would they? Just because I have a few slight scratches, doesn't necessarily mean that I am unable to work." She said as she turned toward him, with her bright green eyes looking at him, with a smile on her face.

"Never knew you to be such a workaholic before." He stated. Even though she paid close attention to detail, once she was finished writing a report, she would worked on her skills for her aliases or in the shop.

"I'm usually not this particular about writing things down. I prefer to just give an aural report instead of writing one." She said. "Besides, I completed that last night. I am actually writing a letter."

"Ah. I see. Who are you writing to?" He inquired.

Okira paused, and looked back at the letter, quietly answering "Aoshi."

Okaita froze, she hadn't said anything about him since the previous spring. "Has he written you?"

"No. I wrote a letter a while back, but I never sent it because he needs to heal from all that has happened to him." She answered within her hushed tone. It was her way of coping with her last memory of him.

"That's wise considering the situation." He commented. "Is that why you're wearing your sky blue kimono?" The kimono was a gift from Aoshi from several years ago, and she only pulled it out on rare occasions.

"I suppose so." Her smile returned for a brief moment then began to fade once more. "The physical scars from the last time I saw him must've healed, but I fear that his mind hasn't."

"He was ill when I arrived. Misao basically clung to his side." Okaita told her. Anyway, she is here and is currently looking over the report."

"I can see that..." She said as she nodded her head and smirked. "...She hasn't changed much..."

"I would go greet her, but I am to rest, and stay off of my feet for a bit." She slid her kimono up her leg so Okaita could see the wound that she had on her left leg. The wound wasn't as deep as it could have been, running diagonal from right to left up her shin. "I should be up and going as early as tomorrow." She said, placing the kimono back over it.

"I understand." He said as he stood in the doorway. "I'm just going to let you rest."

Okira thanked him, bowed and instead of returning to the letter, went back to meditation.

After going over the reports again, Misao stood from the desk and went in search of Okira. Upon her arrival in Yokohama, she had been somewhat relieved that she wasn't required to see her, but in going over her report, she realized that she had to put away her childish jealousy that she had to overcome the situation at hand. She wandered down the hall to find a door that was open just about an inch. She opened the door to find Okira meditating, with her back to the door. She spoke to the figure "Geez, you're just like him…" for she was in the same position on the floor that she had seen Aoshi in for months on end since his return.

Okira, without skipping a beat simply said. "Your hands have never been stained with blood. Innocence is lost once one takes the life of another. This is how we deal with such a weight upon our hearts." She said coldly, and then turned to face Misao. "It's a burden that neither of us ever wants to be placed upon you." She said with a smile.

Misao thought about it for a moment, and then entered the room, sitting down beside her. Okira was right, but she couldn't think about that at the moment when the mission was more important. "When would be a good time to make our move?" she asked, looking over the tactical report once more.

Okira was a bit surprised by this since it was all in the report, and the date was clearly stated within them, in addition to the urgency of Misao's arrival in Yokohama. "The best day would be tomorrow, for the following day is when their shipment comes in, and if they can be stopped before the shipment arrived, then they would have control of the disposal of the drugs. Thus why the urgency of your arrival."

Misao nodded in agreement. "It certainly would be the best day." She sighed, wondering how Aoshi was able to lead the Oniwaban at such a young age. "Make the preparations and report back to me." She said as she stood to leave.

Okira continued to sit on the floor, but turned her body to face the teenager. She was slightly confused since all the preparations were already complete. "Are there any more that you would require?"

"Huh?" Misao returned the confused expression.

"The preparations are complete." She said. "Okaita and my gear are fully ready, and Shinpachi is going to be waiting back here to dress any wounds and such. We also have a black uniform for you, and sharpened kunai…"

Misao looked in wonder at her. Aoshi had always had faith in her, and she was starting to realize the reason why. Jealousy coursed through her for a brief moment because she saw how Okira had developed into a true kunoichi. Aoshi never allowed Misao the same privileges as he allowed Okira in terms of missions and assignments. She had gained Aoshi's tactical knowledge and was able to work with it. Misao was always kept from the battlefield by Aoshi, and she wondered why. She eventually convinced herself that it was because he cared about her enough to not put her into danger. She sighed as a happy smile creped across her face.

"Misao…?" Okira asked as she watched Misao's thought process.

Misao snapped out of her thoughts. "That's all." She said as she walked toward the door.

Okra nodded and watched Misao move toward the interior door.

Misao continued to think until she reached the door. "Wait…!" She turned and faced Okira. Something Aoshi had said before her departure dawned upon her. "Can I ask you a question?"

Okira turned back to look at her. "Matters on the question as to if I can give you an answer to it."

She understood where she was coming from since her missions were a strict secret. "What happened between you and Aoshi?"

Okira froze as the memory played over in her mind. The coldness of Aoshi and the rain chilled her to the bone, his curse rang in her ears, the taste of blood soaked thread filled her mouth, the feel of damp swords weighted her hands. She regained her composure and simply said "Ask him." As she turned around and asked that she be left alone.

Misao had watched her, and wanted to ask more, but given her reaction, it wasn't wise to push for an answer; she never dodged questions before which showed her that the memory was much deeper than she had originally thought. Whatever happened was too painful to both of them to tell her about it. She was starting to put together the picture that no one knew about it, and wither Aoshi or Okira was going to indulge her in the incident. However, she found it odd how they told her to ask the other. She walked out of the room and down the hall to the spare room where she was staying to unpack and relax a little bit.

Okira continued to stay motionless in her room. The memory she had attempted to block out for the last five months. Since Aoshi's return, she had been able to put it aside, but knowing Aoshi as she did, she gave him the space that he needed to finally mourn the loss of the four men because of the Kanryuu affair. She had hoped that eventually he would remember her, and write her when he was ready, but it had been nearly a month and a half since his return, and hadn't heard anything from him. She began to wonder whether or not he forgot about her, or their last encounter. She closed her eyes and began to meditate once more, trying to block out the memory and preparing for the mission.

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A/N: To Be Continued... 


	11. Preparation

A/N: I'm so sorry for the lateness of this, but I have the next three chapters outlined, and I hopefully will be updating more frequently. Darned writer's block! Anyway, I appreciate the reviews, and I'm trying to take the suggestions that I've recieved and paint them into the story. Thank you to those who continue to read this, it really is appreciated. :)

**Chapter 11: Preparation**

Aoshi had spent the rest of the day in bed, with a fever and chills. Okina had the doctor come and take a look, and said that it was aseptic meningitis, the same illness that haunted the royal family at the time. The doctor said that he should have plenty of bed rest in his darkened room and fluids. He had also said to pray, for it could be life-threatening.

Aoshi was tormented by the nightmares that he was suffering from, and the feeling that something was amiss about the whole situation. He couldn't get used to the idea that Okaita would leave the post without anyone in charge of the post. Shinpachi may have taken over in his absence, for he hadn't heard of any other returning members from Yokohama. He was convinced that Okira was dead; for there was no way that she could survive the injuries she received during their last meeting. His concern for Misao was the underlining factor, but at this point, he wanted to know what was going on at the Yokohama post. 'Was it a trap?' He thought as his mind was not only plagued by concern and questions, but a high fever as well.

The first blush of dawn in Yokohama life was how it always had been, as if nothing was amiss. Misao awoke late in the morning, and found breakfast in the back room awaiting her. She ate it, and wandered around the house looking for any sign of life. She walked down the hall, peering into room after room. She cautiously opened Okira's door to reveal a cleaned room, the papers on her desk were piled neatly. Curiously, she walked to the front of the shop to find Okaita working at the store front. Spotting her, he went to greet her. "Good morning Misao-chan! How well did you sleep?" He said smiling.

Misao smiled, saying calmly that she had slept well. She had actually not fallen asleep for at least an hour after she retired for she was concerned about a certain someone whom she left behind in Kyoto. She hoped that he was doing better, and had a longing to be by his side. 'Soon I will be able to go back to Kyoto. Tonight is the mission, and then I an return to Aoshi-sama's side.' She thought with a soft smile. Nothing could deter her from her own mission. Just then she spotted Okira, acting as if nothing was wrong. She moved gracefully through the store, and her happy demeanor was filling the air. Puzzled, Misao was curious how she could move so gracefully after an injury that was inflicted upon her not even two days ago. She shouldn't be able to stand.

Okaita traced her line of sight upon Okira as she flit from one thing to the next. Her long sleeves seemed to get caught on everything, which was toying with the original idea of how graceful she was. He formulated a plan that would keep them both busy for a few moments. "Chocho!" he called as Okira turned around.

"Okaita! Beautiful day isn't it?" She turned around nearly knocking over one of the displays. She caught it in time, replacing it where it was previously. There wasn't anyone in the store at the moment, so she could quickly react to it. Chocho was her civilian name, and the alias was a clumsy girl who didn't have any sense of balance. It was always a fun alias for her to play considering the fact that she could act like a haphazard, but still be in complete control of the situation.

"Why don't you show Misao around Yokohama today?" He said without hesitation.

"Eh?" Misao looked confused at the old man. With the mission coming up that evening, it wasn't the appropriate time to go sight-seeing.

"Wonderful idea!" Okira said with a huge smile across her face. "Come Misao-chan! I will show you everything!" the slightly older woman took her by the wrist and started to drag her out the door.

"Is it really the right time to be doing this?!" She protested, trying to break free of Okira's grasp.

"Everything will be fine!" Okira said without skipping a beat. "Everything should be prepared for tonight, so there is no need to worry!"

Misao paused. The preparations had been completed before her arrival, but there seemed to be something that she should be doing besides sight seeing. She nodded and proceeded to follow her to the door.

As they were about to walk out the door, Okira pulled Misao aside. Facing the young woman, she made sure that she had eye contact with her. "As Okashira, I am certain that you should know that as far as the public is concerned, Okira died in a house fire at the age of three."

"What?!" a shocked Misao inquired.

Okira sighed. "Let me explain. The fire was real, the lie wasn't. There were many reasons why it was covered up, but none of them are relevant now. I have several aliases. My citizen name is Chocho. If my aliases were found out I would easily be put to death because of how much I know, and the variety of work I have done. There are some who are on the search for one or two of my aliases because of what I've done. So, as far as you know, I am Chocho Soudai. I was born in Tokyo as an orphan, and Kantaro, otherwise known as Okaita took me in." She paused for a moment, thinking, 'My true past is far more complicated than that, but that is what's known by most people.' She continued by forcefully saying, "I am Chocho."

Misao nodded as they walked out the door. She couldn't help but wonder how Okira got involved with the Oniwaban, or why she was never known to her before she obtained the position of Okashira, and even then, it was after her and Aoshi returned from Jinchuu, and she was going through old files.

Meanwhile, Okaita had since been tending to customers. In his spare time, he scratched down important thoughts that he needed to get down on paper as a contingency plan if the mission was a failure. 'Okira isn't going to like this, but it needs to be done in case if this fails.'

Okira and Misao decided to spend the morning at a new garden that had just opened earlier that year. Not long after their arrival, a beautiful geisha handed Okira a letter before walking away. Without hesitation Okira read the letter. "We need to go back."

Misao looked up at her. "Why?"

"There's been a change of plans for this evening." She said sternly as she turned to walk out of the garden. "We need to get back as soon as possible."

Misao nodded and followed her back to the shop, and they arrived just in time for lunch. Shinpachi was over as well, for he had a break and wanted to confirm the mission's plan.

Okira had excused herself from the meal early, telling them that she had to prepare for the afternoon. When she returned, she wore a burgundy Kimono and several layers underneath. She wore a beautifully adorned wig of midnight black hair, which was done in the 'split peach' hairstyle, the style of a geisha. She glided into the room, sitting quietly where she had before. She looked like a geisha without make-up on.

Misao watched her, confused at who this person was. "Excuse me, but who are you?" She asked politely, for it didn't look or act like Okira at all.

The woman bowed, addressing the Okashira. "Good afternoon, Misao. I am Genkaku, and I will be helping tonight with the mission.

Misao wanted to think it was Okira, but she even disguised her voice and she had a Kansai accent. It was only after that she realized that it was truly her. 'No wonder Aoshi always relied on her.' She gloomily thought, responding "That's amazing!" in her normal hyper tone.

Okira smiled. She had been training as a geisha for many years as part of her alias training. She was to use her lesser-known alias, because her other was more popular and exclusive. Her danna would be upset if she used that alias for a mission. The first part of the mission was for her and Misao to infiltrate the estate, slipping sleeping powder into the drinks at the party, which would help knock out part of the resistance against them.

Okaita could barely take his eyes off of her, surprised at the transformation himself. "You never cease to amaze me. Is everything set?" He rarely got to see her in geisha form because most of her clientele was in Tokyo or Kyoto.

"For the most part, Misao still has to be briefed on the new scenario and get dressed. It was just so convenient that they had requested companionship tonight." Okira smiled.

"How did you…" Misao started before what Okira had just said sank in. "Wait, get dressed? What are you talking about?"

"I have a very wide base of connections. I'm actually filling in for Akari, who was originally scheduled for the event. In anticipation of this, I convinced her that I would take over for her tonight, for there was a danger to her if she didn't. In other words, I take the engagement, and give her the cash that she would've earned in turn for her safety. She was the one that handed me the letter this afternoon, Misao. I had spoken with her before you arrived as a contingency plan. She would be the likely choice for the party since some of her greatest patrons would be there. The letter was her agreeing to the terms and information about the party" Okira continued, still acting the part.

Shinpachi was awe-struck by Genkaku's entrance, but he tried hard to ignore it.

"Wait, what are you talking about, Okira? Why do I need to get dressed, and what's with this briefing?" Misao inquired, for she was already wearing the ninja outfit that the Yokohama post had supplied her, for her other wasn't well-suited for this specific assault. The difference was that the new one had long sleeves and pants, which would help her blend into the darkness better.

"I'm sure you read about the contingency plan. I received word this morning in the garden as to why our previous mission wouldn't work. The subservients of the drug-lord are throwing a party to toast their impending success. I'm sorry Okashira for not informing you of this earlier, but the confirmation of the party came this morning, and this is more likely to work out." Okira said, dropping the accent.

"If they're going to have a party, then they would be incapacitated by the alcohol. Why wouldn't the previous plan work?" Misao asked. The previous plan was more of a kick-down-the-door assault, an she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like the new plan as much.

"If we attack a party, the boss could slip out undetected, and we would be back to the drawing board. The foot soldiers may be drunk, but it's better to knock them out in other ways, for the drunk can be very unpredictable." Okira continued to explain, picking back up her accent and act.

"Other ways?" Misao continued to ask.

"Slip sleeping powder into their tea. They are much easier to deal with when they're asleep." Shinpachi commented. "It's not the best tactic, but it can be effective. By the time they wake up in the morning, they will find themselves in a jail cell. None of us really like using pharmaceutical warfare, but when you only have a handful of people trying to take on about a hundred, sometimes you have to adapt tactics that will come out in your favor."

Misao nodded. "So, now what am I wearing?" she inquired.

"The plan is that you are to be an apprentice geisha and younger sister of mine as we infiltrate the estate acting as a geisha. If you're going to be central, we'll need you on the inside."

Misao didn't really enjoy the fact that she would be dressed in a kimono with white make-up upon her face.

"I will brief you while I help you dress." Okira said as she stood to leave.

Misao reluctantly followed her, and listened carefully to her words.

Okira instructed her how to act, walk, talk, and how to effectively hide her weapons in the folds of the beautifully adorned kimono. For hours, she drilled her on proper etiquette.

Misao would glare at her, occasionally bursting out in anger over the stupid lessons.

Okira had her hands full working with her, but she was able to get her ready within the afternoon. She was nervous of how Misao would do with this. She wondered if the hyper girl before her could actually pull it off. There was no way that anyone could learn to be a geisha in an afternoon, but she still had to try to teach the hyper girl to be demure, which was a challenge.

After dinner, Okira and Misao both went into Okira's room as she pulled out a box of make-up, combs and accessories. She also had a wig for Misao to wear. It was her apprentice geisha wig, and hadn't worn it in years, but it would suit Misao right for the occasion. She carefully did her hair in a way that the wig would sit firmly on the younger girl's head. The long braid was the hardest thing to work with. To her surprise, Misao sat calmly as she readied her hair style. She placed a lacquered comb in her hair that had the design of cherry blossoms on it. As she looked back down into the drawer, she saw her favorite comb, which had a three-dimensional dragonfly on it. She quietly smiled, for it was the one that she always worn when she was meeting with her danna under her Kasumi alias.

Next was fitting Misao in the attire. She chatted with Okira about various things, but nothing substantial about her past or aliases. She was curious since that morning, and figured that she was hiding something more than her and Aoshi's last meeting. She could sense a calm confidence and patience about her. In a way, how she was able to keep her true thoughts and emotions internally without any indication reminded her of Aoshi. They seemed very similar in that respect, but at the same time very different.

"How is Aoshi?" Okira asked, breaking her train of thought. Aoshi had always been a sore spot between them due to jealousy upon both ends. However, Okira hadn't heard any word from him, and had only a vague idea of his condition from her own experiences with him. But, she wanted to know how her childhood friend was doing after his bout with insanity. She hated to admit it, but Misao had the information that she needed to hear. The memory plagued her, even though it wasn't the last time she saw him- it was the last time she was seen by him. She kept a watchful eye on him up until he returned to the Aoiya from the battle with Shishio.

Misao snapped out of her daze, pleased that she felt as if she had won some battle against Okira, for she had information that she hadn't. "He spends most of his time in the temple these days." She said, trying to mask her worry for him. Misao hadn't mastered the way to hide her emotions like Aoshi or Okira had. "But I am determined to see him smile!" she could genuinely smile about that, still attempting to cover her worry.

Okira smiled. There was an innocence that she had that was truly genuine. "I see." It was as she predicted. 'All Aoshi knew for eight years was suddenly gone with a turned crank from a gatling gun. He must be wondering about what to do now, and trying to get though the emotional battle that rages within his heart and mind. It will take him time to make it through everything. . .' she thought.

Before Misao knew it, they were preparing to leave. She couldn't help but feel a bit nervous about it, and in a way, excited.

Okaita and Shinpachi were talking in the doorway when Okira and Misao made their appearance. Okaita was dressed in his ninja uniform, for he was to make sure everything went smoothly. Shinpachi would guard the headquarters and be ready to administer medical treatment when they returned.

Okira had Misao practice her greeting and manor upon them, and while Okira had her doubts about Misao acting the part, she was pleasantly surprised at the different behavior that Misao was able to pull off.

"Be careful, you three." Shinpachi pleasantly said before adding "I want you all to come back safely." in the most sincere voice.

Okira turned to him, as her smile faded. "We better get going" She stood and walked towards the door. "We will see you later." She knew that it was possible for the drug lord's goons to attack while they were out, and she worried about Shinpachi. Her mission earlier with this case was to get their intentions, but on the opposition's side to draw out the opposition, thus the trap she found herself ensnared in. If the drug lord had any intelligence of his own, he might've been able to track down who was trying to stop him. She had given tactical information to Shinpachi in case this happened, but she still was concerned because if they were able to find him, then it's likely that they would also find Okaita. However, this was the nature of warfare. She sighed as she slid the door behind her and the three of them left for the estate.

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A/N: To be continued...


	12. The Mission

**A/N: **I've Updated the first 6 chapters because of many reasons. However, most of it is spelling or grammatical errors, and nothing really substancial to the story. There was a few inconsistancies that I've corrected through reading the manga, and solidifying where this story fits within the timeline.  
With inquiries coming in about the Aoshi/Okira dynamic, I promise all will be revealed in due time. I'm actually dying to write the chapter, but I'm not quite there yet. There are several things that need to happen within the story before it is fully revealed. I admit, it is a ploy to keep you reading, but it's also meant as sub-plot. I'm trying to hint and give more clues in each chapter as to what happened (this chapter I couldn't really find an opening, but the next will deal more with it. Oh the joy of a high fever).

Chapter 13 is under Heay revision, and it may be a bit before I'm satisfied enough to post it.

Anyway, I appreciate the reviews, and the comments, suggestions and inquiries contained within them. Thank you for your continued support, it is greatly appreciated.

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**Chapter 12: The Mission**

Once they reached the estate, it was already dusk. Lanterns were lit on the wrought iron gate, casting an inviting glow upon the already darkened street. The air was cool, and the wind had occasional gusts that would blow its fair share of fallen leaves across the streets.

Misao looked up at the gate. "This is amazing!" she exclaimed as she regained her balance.

Both Okira and Okaita looked at her. This was normal architecture for them, for the embassies were in the area as well, and had a similar structure. "Gimon, remember your conduct." she quietly reminded. Gimon was the alias that Okira had created for Misao for this occasion. She pulled out her Genkaku alias for this mission, because she was lesser known from the popular Kasumi.

Misao had plodded along on the street, and with the shoes being abnormally high, she had a hard time walking in them. She nearly fell several times, but each time either Okaita or Okira was able to catch her. The kimono was also troublesome to her. It hindered her range of motion considerably since she was used to wearing shorts. In looking up at Okira, who seemed to float, she wondered how she could stand both the restricting movement and the high shoes.

Okaita bowed to the young women, disappearing into the darkness. He was to be a contingency plan in case if something should happen to them. He was to wait outside the gate in a tree that had a clear view of the room that the party was taking place in. This way, he could keep a close eye on what was happening, and see if Misao and Okira needed assistance at any point.

Misao gulped as they were allowed entrance into the estate. She continued to have a little trouble walking in such high shoes, but she continued to try her best to be as graceful and elegant as Okira, who seemed to float across the cobblestone walkway to the house. Misao's heart pounded, but still tried to remain calm and balanced. The make-up was uncomfortable to her, and she wanted to itch it, but it was strictly against what Okira had told her. She was to be a mature, demure, young woman who had many years of training to be polite and poised. This was going to be tough for her, since she had been raised with a tomboy attitude. She thought about how the skills Okira had taught her would be useful. She taught Misao how to do things a bit more gracefully, and she could barely wait to return to Kyoto and show Aoshi what she had learned. 'I guess it's worth learning' she thought as she smiled, but it quickly faded, remembering the state that she left him in. She hoped that he was doing better, and that it wasn't anything life-threatening. 'He seemed really sick…' she thought as they walked toward the front door. 'I want to be by his side, more than anything.'

They were greeted by a butler, who showed them to the upstairs room in which the party was going on. He opened the door for them, revealing a large room where about twenty men were seated. Okira and Misao bowed. "I apologize for Akai, she was unable to make it, for she has fallen ill, and so she sent me in her place. My name is Genkaku, and this is my little sister, Gimon. I humbly seek for your favor." Okira spoke in her soft Kansai accent. They bowed again, and then entered into the room.

Okira went right to work, but kept a close eye on Misao. She was concerned as to how this was all to turn out, for Misao only has been briefed on the situation, and had little to no experience with it. It was only one night, but it would be difficult with the sixteen year old girl that she had in tow.

Misao was instructed to watch Okira closely, and take notes as well as mimic her behavior. To say the least, it wasn't an easy task.

Okira joked and bantered with the men as if she had done so her entire life. She told a story about a time with one of her friends.

"Genkaku-san, have you ever been to a cherry-blossom viewing in Hakone?" one of the men asked.

Okira smiled. "No, but I always wanted to. I've been to Hakone in the fall though, and it's just as beautiful with the autumn leaves. A close friend of mine had offered to take me to get away from the city. I admit it was a bit chilly, but the hot spring made it all the more worth it." She giggled. "I should say, especially the hot spring…!"

"Oh, and why is that?" another man slyly asked.

Okira's eyes danced at the inquiry. "My friend was on a nearby porch, reading a book about anatomy. I was actually soaking in the hot spring with my eyes closed when something furry all of a sudden brushed against the back of my neck!"

"What happened?!" the first man asked.

Okira smiled, and continued her story, trying to contain her laughter. "Well, I screamed! My friend had come running to see what the matter was, and as he bolted through the door, his yukata caught on the latch, which ripped it off of him. Needless to say, it was awkward, for he was stripped down to his loin cloth, and I just had one of the small towels over me. Come to find out it was a squirrel that had scampered across the back of my neck looking for acorns. My friend blushed as he tried to recover his torn yukata, and walked back to the porch."

The room chuckled with laughter. Okira knew it wasn't her best story, but it was something to tell, since she ended up laughing every time she thought of it.

Misao eventually eased up, relaxing a bit more. Oddly enough, she began to feel more at ease in the mild chit-chat between her and the other men. She thought back to the times that she was traveling with Aoshi and the other four. She started to become more outgoing, and following Okira's lead in conversation.

Okira was content telling short stories, that she had admitted to Misao that she wasn't using her best material, but she had to have different anecdotes because she was using a different alias.

Misao eventually focused her attention on one man who barely said anything, his quiet, yet commanding presence reminded her a lot of Aoshi. With as much grace as she could muster, she walked over, sat down next to him, and tried to strike up a conversation. He was a middle aged man with glasses and brown hair. The man took an instant liking to her, and they talked about the westernization of Japan and what their thoughts were on the current Meiji government. Another man had tried to get them off such gloomy subjects, but they didn't bother to listen to him. She offered to pour him a glass of tea, but he declined.

Misao timidly placed the teapot she had in her hand back down on the table. 'This is bad. He's the only one that didn't drink anything, in which case it put a hitch in the original plan…' she thought. She shot a weak glance at Okira, who in turn smiled back. Misao knew by her reaction that she had already thought of the possibility, and probably had a plan up her sleeve.

Okira had been making her rounds in pouring tea and sake, entertaining them with her jokes and shamisen playing. She half-heartedly hoped that Misao knew an instrument, so the illusion would be more complete. Before too long, all of the men were starting to fall asleep around the room. Okira looked around at her handiwork, keeping an eye on Misao and the mysterious man who had nothing to drink that night. She thought that something like this would happen, especially since the boss was known to be more cautious than his subordinates. There were a few more men still conscious, and she continued to beguile them with outrageous jokes and anecdotes.

Before long, the inevitable happened. The man that Misao was entertaining had to use the facilities. Traditionally, it was the Maiko's job to escort him. Okira had feared this, but it was the protocol. She had instructed Misao on what to do, but it still made her uneasy.

Once Misao realized what was happening; she stiffened right up, but still tried to do as Okira had instructed.

Okira watched them stand and leave the room. She was caught watching Misao, and the men coaxed her into playing another song upon her shamisen. She was able to convince them that she should pick the song, which enabled her to lull them asleep.

As she stood up and was about to step out of the room, she heard the call of a mourning dove, which was a dire sign from Okaita that he was in danger. She had no time to loose. It was certainly taking the man quite a bit of time to use the bathroom, for it had been a while, and Misao hadn't come back. She started to fear that the plan was falling apart, and she needed to be in two places at once. Immediately, she undid her constricting layers, so she would be able to move quickly. She laid everything in the corner of the room to be retrieved later. Her two kodachi were drawn, a sheath on each side of her hip. She had kunai placed in the obi of her ninja outfit, and without wasting any more time, she ran to the door.

Upon opening it, she was met by about a dozen armed foot soldiers, ready to attack. Sweat started to run down her alabaster, made-up face as she went into her attack stance. There was no turning back now, and the only way to help Misao and Okaita was to fight through the guards, find Misao, pick up Okaita and get out of there. She had no choice. In the blink of an eye, she locked herself in fierce combat.

--

It was evening before Aoshi woke up. He had a dreamless sleep, which helped him to relax because he wasn't waking up as often from a nightmare. Omasu was by his side, and asked if he needed anything.

"No. Arigato." He said as he stared at the ceiling.

Omasu placed her hand upon his forehead, and she realized that he was burning up. She excused herself to go get a cold wash cloth when she was intercepted by Okon at the well.

"How is he?" she inquired.

"He's actually sleeping, which should be a good sign. However, he's still burning up with fever." Omasu said sadly. "I'm getting a cold cloth for his head, hopefully it'll help with the fever."

"Let me take it to him. You've been watching him for about 8 hours now. Take a break, I'll watch over him." Okon softly said.

"Arigato. I think I'll get some rest," she said as she wearily slipped down the hallway.

--

Back in Yokohama, Shinpachi was spending a quiet evening reading a book. He was trying hard to keep his mind off of the mission that was currently happening on the other side of town. He didn't mind keeping an eye on the place, or lending a hand when needed. The reason why he wasn't directly involved with the mission was two fold: he had been out of practice in combat for a while now, much to his dismay, and someone had to be there waiting in case if there was any wounds that needed to be tended to within his ability. Both he and Okira were well versed in medicine, and were both about the equivalent as field medics. Part of the Oniwaban training was basic first aid, but they continued their training beyond the basics.

He sat back in his chair behind the desk in the office engrossed in his book when he heard a noise outside. He turned his head slightly, eyes on the shoji behind him. He was well aware that there was a possibility of an attack, and he knew the floor plan well. Disguised as a common shop that deals items from the West, the place was built as a ninja fortress. He smiled as he set down his book on the desk. He pulled one of the drawers open to reveal his weapons. He smirked as he took "Yume" and "Akumu" out of the drawer. The silver sai gleamed in the moonlight that was coming through the translucent walls. It had been a while since he had a chance to fight, and he reveled at the opportunity.

A shadow grew more vivid upon the shoji screen. The figure appeared and quietly opened the door. Shinpachi flicked his wrist pointed the sai at the assailant. "Bring it…" He hissed.

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**To be continued...**


	13. Mind Games

**A/N:** It looks like I am back on track a bit. Today is the three year anniversary (4/9) of the first time I posted this story. I had walked away from it for about 2 1/2 years, but I am back, and happy to be writing again! This was my second favorite chapter to write thus far (Chapter 9 is number one). Also, I want to point out that this is only the first half of the story. If I ended it shortly after the mission, then it would be more difficult to explain some of the set-up I have had in previous chapters. If you have questions/comments, let me know. Thanks for reading, it is greatly appreciated! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 13: Mind Games**

_Meanwhile… _

Misao had escorted the man to the bathroom, and upon the return journey, he said that he had to pick up something in his office. When he had Misao in the room, he closed and locked the door behind them. Little did she know that when the man and Misao were talking, the man was gaining her trust, as well as pieces of her true identity. She started to feel very trapped, and she wished with all her heart that Aoshi would've made a miraculous recovery and was able to get to Yokohama to participate in the mission.

The man walked further into the room, lighting candles around as to give a glow to the darkened chamber. As the flickering lights illuminated the room, she could see that she was in an office somewhat similar to her own. Bookshelves lined all four walls, with only enough space to have a door or a window unblocked, and seemed to be two stories in height. There was a Western style desk in the middle of the room with a chair behind it. Not all the shelves had books on it, but memorabilia from the Tokugawa era. The most memorable was a set of swords that were on one of the shelves toward the back of the room.

Misao tried to stay calm. She tried to persuade him to go back to the party, but to no avail. It was clear to her that she wasn't as skilled at this as Okira, which pissed her off a bit. She was calm for the most part, but at the same time, terrified. She was frozen in her place, as if her feet were glued to the floor.

"Very clever, for I wouldn't expect for the Oniwaban to make such a bold move.", the man started as he sat down in the chair behind the desk. On his face was a cocky smirk as he added. "You've failed, Makimachi Misao."

She froze in place, sweat started to form upon her brow. How was he able to tell who she was? She thought that she had done well for never impersonating a geisha before. 'How does he know? What does he mean by "failed"? What about Okira, Okaita and Shinpachi? Were they alright…?' Thousands of questions encased her mind before her thoughts were disturbed by the man's voice.

"Your subordinates are either dead or dying." He smiled, and took out a cigar and lit it. Blowing out a puff of smoke, he continued, "We found the old man, and disposed of him immediately. As for the woman who was with you, she has to face three waves of foot soldiers before she could even hope to help either one of you. She was here before, and she poisoned my best guard. However, she didn't know that we had the antidote, and that he is awaiting her on the other side of this door. Your plan has failed, and your comrades are dead."

Misao attempted to be calm, but her body language would make a storm look placid. Her teeth were gripped tightly, and so were her hands. She was tense from head to toe, trying hard not to shake in fury. "I don't have to worry about her, for she can take care of herself", she said reluctantly. Runs started to appear in her mask, and her true face started to appear. The more she thought about it, the more she became infuriated about the whole situation. "I'm sure NONE of them will fall to SCUM like YOU!"

The man laughed. "'Scum'…? Is that truly the best you can do?" His eyes danced. "A fitting mistake for you. You didn't even try to deny your own identity! If you were truly working as a spy, you would never give your true identity so easily. Even if you had tried, I would not have questioned that you are Makimachi Misao. Your aspirations always fall short of wherever you've placed them. Including the confidence in your incompetent subordinates. "

Misao's eyes narrowed, upset that she had fallen into such a trap. She tried hard to think of a rebuttal, but couldn't before he continued.

He snickered at her. "Well, I suppose that this is the level that I need to speak with you, and don't worry, I will speak in small words so that I know you will understand me."

"WHAT?!" Misao furiously tried to charge him, but tripped because of the hindering design of the kimono. "Damn it!" She cursed as she tried to get back up.

"Stupid little girl. You can't even walk in a kimono. You'll never reach the age of maturity with stupid moves like that!" he taunted, taking another drag off of his cigar.

Misao remembered where Okira had instructed her to hide her kunai, and as she found one in the folds of the kimono. She freed herself of the encumbering garment. Underneath she wore her uniform with pride and had a satchel of kunai. She was now armed and readied her attack, sending several flying toward the man before her.

He deftly dodged each one without even thinking. "You truly are a moron." he said, standing up from the desk and walking towards her.

"I don't have to listen to this!" She yelled as she threw even more of her kunai at him.

Again, he dodged, but her attacks seemed to be more focused. He had to pay close attention, because he was nearly caught by them. With a few quick moves, he had Misao by the throat. "You should play nice. I could easily kill you at any moment." he huskily informed her.

Her body went limp and she adverted her eyes.

He let go of her throat, and started back to his desk. But before he could get very far, Misao screamed, "Kencho Kick!" kicking him in the side.

He whipped around, punching her in the solar plexus and then retreated back to his desk. The force of his punch knocked her backwards as she writhed in pain on the floor. He easily broke at least four of her ribs.

She tried to move, but couldn't as the pain coursed through her body. She fought hard to stand, but to no avail.

"There, now that I have captured you attention, let me keep talking to you." He sneered.

"Why…are you…doing…this…?" Misao managed to squeak out.

"Why?" He sneered back at her. "It's simply because there's no place in this country for foreigners! That damned Perry fired upon our capital and forced us into submission. We had lived peacefully for three hundred years. The samurai were the dominant class, who had free reign. The foreigners put a halt to it, the samurai were abolished, and so was our way of life. My brother never claimed the samurai. Instead, he got involved with the opium trade. His goal was to be a wealthy entrepreneur, but his subservients rebelled against him; and the lure of a swordsman because of the lady doctor, solidified his downfall…."

Misao had heard this story before, just another side of it. "Kanryuu…" She breathed out.

"Correct. I was able to use his contacts to obtain the poison needed in our little scheme. I was active in the resistance. Expelling the barbarians is still my goal, for they have NO place in our world. Dirty devils don't even bathe but once a month! It is easy to find others that feel the same way, for the old samurai spirit hasn't been extinguished. There are many who hate those cursed foreigners! If it wasn't for your pitiful little group, my brother wouldn't be in jail. Also, there is no way that you can stop us this time. Even your medic back at your shop is in danger, for we're dealing with him as well. I guess that's what you get for having a worthless weasel girl for a leader!"

"DON'T CALL ME A WEASEL!" she yelled as she tried to stand in vain. She continued, protesting "They have advances that will help bring us up to date, and medicine that could improve our lives! There is much to be gained…!"

Ignoring her comment, he continued. "Oh, but you are a weasel! Do you honestly think that you're more than just a mere rodent?! The ninja have been nothing but a thorn in the side of Japan since your founding. There hasn't been any moral use for the ninja class at all. Your kind was just created so that politicians and daimyos cold get away from the honor that the samurai had so they could advance themselves. The interesting thing about your meaningless ninja clan is that while under that Shinomori Aoshi's control, they never saw battle at Edo Castle during the revolution. They couldn't even fight in the battle in which could've kept our borders closed!" He yelled back at the withering girl on the floor. "Our national identity is being lost! That is why I am doing this-to preserve our identity by continuing the glorious past!"

"That wasn't Aoshi-sama's fault! It was Katsu Kaishuu's fault because he didn't want bloodshed of innocent people!" she screamed back at him.

"Oh, so do you still idolize this 'Aoshi-sama' of yours?! I dare say you're infatuated with that refuse! You're more a fool than I thought! How long will you stay by that stoic man's side?! He's got a secret that he's hiding from you, and it's the reason why he'll NEVER return your feelings!" He sneered at her. "That miserable, worthless man would be a terrible companion!"

"Aoshi-sama isn't refuse!" She yelled back at him, a fiery passion burning in her sea-foam green eyes. She struggled to stand, but weakly fell to the floor once more.

He shook his head. "You're so blind." He continued. "He left you behind because you're just a burden to him. You were never useful, and therefore he avoids you like the plague. You two are never in the same place at the same time, and nor will you ever be." He smirked as he continued. "A man like that knows nothing of love, but only of death. He's a cold-hearted killer."

"Aoshi-sama isn't like that!" she yelled back at him. "Kansatsu Tobikunai!" She screamed in desperation, sending eight kunai at him before her legs gave out.

He actually had to dodge the kunai that time. He knew that he was getting to her, which was his goal. Without the strong members of the Yokohama post, and the others at the Aoiya that have moved on in life, there was no point in keeping such a nuisance around. Especially since they could stop his plan. Getting rid of them would make his job easier. He sneered as he continued. "How dumb can you be? Your worthless 'Aoshi-sama' is nothing more than an instrument of destruction. I'm sure you don't know the true secrets of his soul, the ice that encases him and the reason for it. In addition, he would never tell anyone about such things. He's cold, and no one could ever thaw him!"

Misao could barely contain her fury and tears of frustration any longer. Not only did her body hurt, but her mind and heart as well. In more ways than one, he was slowly breaking her limits. She hoped against all hope that either Okaita or Okira would be there, or even Aoshi, but as with each verbal attack he hurled at her, it was chipping away at her assurance, turning it into futility.

He watched as the gears in her head turned. "You were better off as a normal girl than to be entangled beyond your comprehension. There is no way that you're ever going to be able to lead this group. You are far too weak. The Oniwaban is all but disbanded. You might as well die here by my hand and sword. There is nothing left for you to live for anymore. Your precious group is all but destroyed. Yokohama was the last surviving post, other than the part-time Aoiya, and now all three members are dead. The Kyoto post only consists of an old man, a meditating ex-ninja, cooks and waitresses. There's nothing left!" he jeered. "…you're just a child!"

She tried hard to ignore him, but couldn't. Arming herself once again with kunai, she got up and hurled them at him. This was the only family and love she ever knew, how dare he insult them. However, she started to wonder about what he had said, was she really powerless? She wondered if he was right. She was young, and inexperienced. "I'M NOT A CHILD!" she screamed in anguish.

He effortlessly dodged the kunai as he stood up from the desk. "Oh but it is true…I can see how childish you truly are…" He said slyly, walking closer to her.

"WHAT?!" Misao angrily yelled as she reached into her obi for more kunai, there weren't any more.

The man grabbed her arms, "You've never killed." He said flatly and quietly.

"Not yet…" she growled through gripped teeth as she struggled to break free. The words of the man reminded her of a previous conversation with Okira, as her words ran through her mind. _"Your hands have never been stained with blood. Innocence is lost once one takes the life of another…It's a burden that neither of us ever wants to be placed upon you." _Neither Aoshi nor Okira wanted her to stain her hands with blood, nor have the weight of taking another human's life. Misao's mind spun, trying to figure out which was right. She was confused. With all of her heart and might she tried to make sense of it, but couldn't. Once again, the man's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Why are you fighting me? You know it to be true. The old man that you came with has fallen, and the other kunoichi is on her way to death up against Shien. You know, I'm sure Aoshi wouldn't want you to kill either…" He trailed off with a sinister smile across his face. He twisted her wrist, let go, and then walked backwards toward the bookshelf with the swords displayed.

She fell to the floor, cradling her badly hurt wrist. Her mind continued to whirl within her skull, she had a hard time figuring out who was right. She weakly looked into his eyes-the eyes of a once proud samurai.

He watched her squirm, as he walked towards one of the shelves on the back wall. "I think it's time that you are finally put at peace." He took a worn katana off the shelf and drew its blade. This was my sword when I was still considered a samurai, and after years of laying around, it'll claim the life of a young, worthless girl."

As he started toward her, she thought that all hope was lost. She continued to try to get up, but still was in far too much pain to move, her mind continued swirl. She had been fighting for so long, and what has she gained? Was there even a reason to fight any longer? Was there even the slightest possibility that she could be a normal girl? Would Aoshi ever love her? Was there any escape? Was there ever a right answer? Would anything be simple again? What was the truth? She started to feel more and more hopeless as he came toward her. She managed to sit up and lowered her head.

He raised his blade, preparing to swing at her…

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**To Be Continued...**

**A/N: **I kind of feel bad for Misao, but as a friend said, "You can't have epic-level characters without giving them epic level crap to deal with".


	14. Escape

**Author's Notes**: Here's the next installment, Enjoy! (please R&R, it keeps me inspired!:) )

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Chapter 14: Escape

A dark figure suddenly dropped down from the second story, and placing a tanto at his throat "Let her go…" the figure growled. The man attempted to turn around, but the blade had already been drawn across his neck, only leaving a small cut across it. The figure loosened its grip, making him to turn around and face his attacker, but his vision could only see a myriad of Kenpo moves that his blurred vision couldn't see where one strike ended and another began. "Damn…" he cursed "poison." He struggled to stand, but eventually went limp, falling to the floor.

"Now who's worthless?" the figure said as she ran to Misao's side.

"Okira…?" She called, hoping that she had identified the figure as it advanced to her.

"Shhh…" Okira commanded. "The police should be able to take it from here." She said as she helped her to her feet. Her face was a mess of white make-up and blood, and showed signs of being worse for wear. "Misao, we should to get out of here!"

No sooner then Misao could lift her arms, Okira had her back on her feet and starting to walk towards the door.

"No…" Misao squeaked, trying to stop her. "There's a guy out there…"

"Don't worry about it, I already took care of him." Okira said, slightly out of breath.

As they limped along, Misao could tell that Okira had injuries, but was some how able to shake the majority of the pain off.

Okira thought that there was more damage done to Misao than she originally believed. On the way, Misao warned Okira about the danger that Shinpachi and about Okaita were in.

"I knew about that." she said calmly as she continued to help Misao along. "…or at least we all expected it."

Surprisingly to Misao, there wasn't anyone from the party around. The police had just arrived as well, taking care of their opposition. However, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

Okira continued, "I had a contingency plan also just in case if something like this was to happen. Shinpachi is also versed in the ninja arts. There's no way that he would fall from this, he knows the floor plan, and every tactical point of the shop. I hoped that Okaita and you would've faired better, but then again, some things you just can't plan for. The police are here, and we should get back soon."

On their way out, Okira had checked where Okaita was supposed to be, and followed a blood trail leading to where he was. In a calm panic, she inspected the wounds, and it was far too much for her to handle.

Misao immediately went running for a police officer to summon the doctor immediately. Okaita eerily reminded Misao of Okina's injuries from earlier that year. Not long after Misao had returned to Okira that Okaita was rushed to the nearby hospital.

Okira held strong, but it was very apparent to Misao that Okira wanted to stay by Okaita's side, but she had to get Misao back to the Benri Monogato.

As soon as they arrived, Shinpachi was there to greet them. He had a bruise across his face, and his shoulder was bandaged. "Are you alright?" he inquired. Okira's face was a mess of crimson and white make-up, and he knew that her kimono had to have been stained as well, but it didn't show because of the burgundy color. She seemed to have a bit of a limp and there seemed to be a cut across her wrist, and other small lacerations, but she was still standing. He could see that Misao was much worse. She held her side with her arm, and the other was limply draped around Okira's neck. "Misao needs help. I believe that she broke four ribs and her wrist may be sprained. They need to be set immediately."

Shinpachi had Misao drape her other arm around him as they moved her down the hall to an open room. Without a word, he handed the bandages to Okira before excusing himself. He left setting Misao's ribs to Okira, who had the same anatomy. He slid the door shut behind him, and sat down outside of the room. "Where is Okaita?" he fearfully asked through the door.

Okira wasted no time, wrapping the bandages tightly around Misao.

Misao screamed in agony, just as she had done a few months before when she and Kaoru faced off against Kamatari.

After her screams subsided, Okira said quietly, but loud enough for Shinpachi to hear, "He's in the hospital…" her voice was wavering, but unyielding. "He's much worse off than any of us. He was barely conscious when we arrived."

Misao carefully slid her uniform top back into place.

"Do you think he'll survive?" Shinpachi asked hesitantly.

Okira gave no answer. Instead, she went to work on setting Misao's wrist, wrapping it tightly.

"I'm decent, if you want to come in." Misao said, as she held out her wrist.

Shinpachi opened the door to see the two women nearly frozen in place. He came over and sat with them on the floor, inspecting Okira's wrist and leg injuries, they were minor scrapes, he handed her the bandages, and she took care of them herself, as he told her once again to take it easy.

The feeling of sorrow was heavy within the room, almost to the point that it crushed all of them.

Misao sat calmly on the mat. She knew well what they were going through, for she had the same thing happen to her when Okina was nearly annihilated by Aoshi earlier that year. "You shouldn't worry." She said quietly. "He'll be alright."

Okira looked up at the young girl in front of her, curious.

Misao was attempting to keep her mind off of the words that the man had spoken, and this was the perfect distraction. She was the leader of this group of ninjas, and her obligation was to make sure everything was right. She knew well the look that Okira was giving her, it was one of anguish, fear with unshed tears. She knew all to well as to how she was feeling. "Trust me."

Back in Kyoto, Aoshi wondered all evening whether or not the mission was an elaborate trap that would ensnare Misao. He could barely rest with so many stresses on his already plagued mind. Misao was in danger, and Okira was dead, he didn't know which one was worse. He attempted to sleep that night, but his temperature spiked, and he woke up in a cold sweat. He could see a figure sitting next to him, but couldn't make out who it was. Delirious with fever, his mind superimposed a woman that he thought was dead upon the figure. "Okira…" He weakly called.

Okon looked up from her book in confusion. "Aoshi…are you alright?" She quietly inquired.

He closed his eyes. "Should you even be asking that question?"

She looked at him in amazement. "I'm to look after you, thus, I should be."

"You have no reason to…not after what I have done to you." He replied.

"What do you mean?" Okon quietly asked, for she had no idea as to what he was talking about.

"You're dead. What are you doing here, Okira?" His voice was forceful, but quiet.

Okon's eyes widened. Okira? Where did that come from? The idea of Okira being dead didn't make sense either. Okon started to feel uneasy, but continued to talk to him. "I told you, I'm here to look after you. Why do you think I am dead?" Okon figured that she would try to figure out what the reason for this was, and role playing Okira may help him to relax in the long run.

"I killed you." He said voice wavering ever so slightly.

Okon's blood froze. "Why?"

"Because you stood in the way of me defeating the Battousai. I needed to get rid of you to follow the path of chaos." He said as tears started to form. "I'm so sorry, Okira. If I could do anything, I would bring you back." A single tear rolled down his cheek. Okira was the only one he never had to explain anything to, which he was curious as to why she was acting as if she had no idea what he was talking about. She was also only one left alive that witnessed the tragic night that changed his life forever. She was his consort, and the only one who truly understood him for who he really was. He was told at a young age to take care of her, but in his insanity, he went against the dying wish of his father, which destroyed him at the current moment. All of his evil acts that he allowed his sword to commit during his insanity were starting to reveal the true cost. He had lost his best friend, by his own sword.

Okon sat in shock, not knowing what else to do, she simply said, "Maybe you'll see me again one day."

Aoshi reached out his hand for hers, continuing to allow tears to run down his cheeks. "I hope so. I'm so sorry, Hotaru." The pain seared through his heart and mind. "Hotaru" was his nickname for her, given out of spite at first because when she was about two years old, she couldn't pronounce 'Aoshi' and she called him Tonbo instead. Both names stuck and were only used in private.

Okon tightly held his hand. He needed to know that through the darkness he was facing, he had a friend. She spoke softly, saying "You will, but right now you need your rest."

"How can I? I finally came to the realization that I alone am the reason that you are no longer in this world. I was told to protect you…and I…"Aoshi started to quietly sob. The weight of his last encounter with her seared his heart and soul.

Okon hushed him. "If you don't rest, then you won't be able to see me again. Please rest." She dried his tears, putting her hand upon his cheek, trying to comfort him. She knew that Okira would've comforted him in such a way.

"Please…please…watch over Misao. She's doing something dangerous, and I'm not able to help her. Keep her safe for me, Hotaru." he pleaded. He had destroyed Okira, but he wasn't going to allow Misao the same fate. He closed his eyes, falling asleep, still delirious with fever.

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**A/N:** To be continued...

Some have inquired about how Aoshi and Okira are connected, and I hope I was able to answer that in this chapter. As to what happened between them, it will be revealed later, but also the Aoiya is starting to wonder the same thing. Aoshi is very sick at this point (please keep that in mind). I drew off of my own experiances from being delusional with a high fever, and it makes the Aoiya wonder as well what's going on. On to the next chapter...!


	15. Inquiry

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay, work has really bogged me down. My hours jumped from barely 20 to just shy of 40 in the past few weeks, and I haven't had too much time to work on the story. I'm hopefully getting more organized so I can continue working on it. I've been sketching a great deal as of late since it takes less of my mind to do so. As always, please review, it really keeps me writing, and you'll see chapters on a more frequent basis. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 15: Inquiry**

By dawn's first light, Aoshi's fever finally broke and came down to normal. About an hour later, Shiro came in to trade places with Okon, who was still mulling over the late-night delusion that Aoshi had.

"Let me watch over him, you've been up nearly all night. Go get some rest Okon." Shiro said as he entered the room, and sat down beside her.

Okon nodded, and stood to leave. "His fever finally broke about an hour ago; he should be feeling a bit better today." She paused. "He was saying strange things last night…"

"Strange things?" He inquired.

"He thought that he killed Okira." she said quietly in a grim tone.

Shiro's initial response was of shock, but he realized that it probably had more to do with his illness than anything else. "Fever can delude reality, maybe that's what happened."

Okon looked down at him with a curious look. "Possibly, but there was more conviction in it. It would be hard to believe that he actually killed Okira, but he was shedding tears."

Shiro's head snapped up. "Tears?" In all the time he had known Aoshi, he had never seen any emotion from the man, let alone tears.

Okon nodded and turned to leave. Upon closing the door, she decided to talk to Okina about it. He was in the office, taking care of the Aoiya's finances. Okina had told her to come in, and she in turn, entered and told him the situation.

The old man sat back in the chair behind the desk. "Hmmm…I wonder whether or not this is what Okaita had mentioned."

"What?" Okon looked into the man's curious eyes.

"When Okaita was here to pick up Misao, he had a question for me about Aoshi's whereabouts last spring. He had said that Okira came back to Yokohama after a mission in Tokyo with a huge gash across her chest. He also said that she's been more distant in the past few months since the incident. If Aoshi said that she had stood in the way of him and Mr. Himura, it would make perfect sense, since she is the key to his past and possibly future. However, he being delusional with fever, this is all speculation. It makes it an intriguing story, especially since Okira is alive." He paused, thinking that this was the reason for prolonged anguish that Aoshi was suffering. He seemed to be doing better once Kenshin sent for Tomoe's diary, but he seemed to be just as tormented on the return as he did when he came back from Shishio's hideout. Watching Himura's suffering must've stirred a blinded memory that was overshadowed by the Kanryuu affair and the passing of time. "I'm sure that the tears were from the fever, but it makes it all the more convincing."

"How do you know that she is still alive?" Okon asked. She hadn't heard anything from her in a while either, and after what Aoshi had said, she wondered herself.

"While Okaita and I were talking, he received a message from her, and I also found the original message that she had written to Misao. She may be our shadow warrior, and hard to track, but it can be easy for us to contact her. I'm sure that once Aoshi's up and about, he'll realize that she is indeed alive. It's very hard to believe that this was all a delusion because of Okaita's inquiry." He said as he shuffled some of the papers on the top of the desk. "If all of this is true, then it is unmistakably the reason for his prolonged anguish, and his protection of Misao has gotten stronger. He doesn't want to fail her as he did with Okira.

No one stirred at the Yokohama post until well past noon. All of them were up most of the night because they couldn't sleep.

Shinpachi had a hard time because his adrenaline was still going after his battle with the intruder.

Okira didn't until nearly dawn because she was worried about Okaita. A messenger came by in the early hours of the morning to tell them that he was stable. It was only after she heard the word that she was able to eventually fall asleep.

Misao didn't sleep at all that night, she tried hard, but the insults hurled by the drug lord rang in her ears. She tried not to think about it, preoccupying something else, but to no avail. She had a restless night as she tossed and turned, trying to clear her head of the encounter. It was well after sunrise that she finally fell into a restless sleep.

About 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Okira awoke. She felt like death warmed over, and tried to go back to sleep, but couldn't. She could barely move from the pain of her injuries. Upon further inspection, she had re-opened the wound on her leg from the strain of fighting, and her wrist was slit open a bit. There were other scratches, but nothing major. She struggled to sit up, as it was very clear to her that she had pushed her body extremely hard the night before, and her body gave out long before her mind did. Every muscle in her body ached, but she saw no use in just laying in bed all day. She had posted a sign in the window of the shop, saying that it would be closed indefinitely because of a family emergency. However, the shop was the last thing on her mind. She got up and started to move to her desk before nearly collapsing.

Shinpachi had requested the day off in case if something like this were to happen. He had been up for about an hour before he heard a noise coming from Okira's room. He ran down to see what was going on, and slid the door open to see her sprawled out across the floor, struggling to get up. He ran to her side, helping her to sit up. "I told you to take it easy, what are you doing?"

Okira's fiery green eyes met his soft chocolate brown ones. "There's no point in me laying in bed forever. Life needs to go on." She was upset at her body for the collapse, but she was even more upset at the point that she wasn't doing anything strenuous, and yet it had the same affect.

"You've really done it this time, haven't you?" He inquired, almost teasingly as he tried to lighten her mood. He knew that she wasn't frustrated with him, but with her injuries.

"Ok, ok, I pushed myself a little too hard this time, but how else are you going to fight off three waves of foot soldiers in addition to everyone else in the place who didn't run away in fear? Okaita and Misao both in trouble, I had to do something…" She reasoned.

Shinpachi knew that she could be downright stubborn in times like this. "You're right, and without you fighting so hard, things with Okaita and Misao could've been much worse. But that doesn't mean that you're invincible."

Okira nodded as the fire faded from her luminous green eyes. "Speaking of Misao, have you checked on her?"

"Just a moment ago; she was sleeping peacefully from what I saw." He said. "In all honesty, I don't think any of us got very much sleep last night."

"No, I wouldn't think so." She said softly. "From what I saw before I disposed of the drug lord, he was not only physically hurting her, but mentally as well. We should keep a close eye on her. Only she would know the damage, and I'm sure she will try to hide behind her chipper personality."

Shinpachi nodded. "Can I get you anything?"

Okira looked at him with confusion at first, but her expression softened. He wasn't trying to hinder her, but instead let her rest so she could get up and go again. The Oniwaban had a strange way of making a group of warriors into a sense of family. "Chamomile tea sounds wonderful." She said calmly. "Arigato."

Shinpachi offered her a small smile before nodding and leaving the room.

Okira sat at her desk and started to mix the ink to write yet another letter, but this time, she intended to send it. It would contain valuable information that the Aoiya needed to know and watch out for with changes in Misao. She would send it to Okina, thinking it still wasn't time for her to contact Aoshi.

Misao awoke hours after the other two had. She attempted to sit up, but was in far too much pain. She was tired and exhausted, but oddly wasn't sleepy. Her mind was still in turmoil as the insults that were hurled at her continued to buzz in her head. Conveniently, she heard a knock at the door which interrupted her thoughts. "Come in…" She said, turning over so she could see who was coming through the door.

"How are you doing this morning?" Shinpachi asked as he entered the room.

"I feel as if I was hit by a train." she weakly answered.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" he inquired.

"Can you open up the shoji?" she asked, hoping that the fresh air would motivate her to get up and move.

He nodded, doing what she had asked. "Anything else?"

"Ie. I should be alright." Misao answered. She had watched him move about the room with ease. "Are you alright?"

Shinpachi looked back at her inquisitively. He brought his hand up and held his bandaged shoulder; he hadn't given it a thought until she said something. "Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering…" she replied. "How about Okaita? Has there been any word?" She was enacting her Okashira duty. Even though she did not know the post as well, they felt like a part of her extended family.

"No, at least we haven't heard anything since dawn." He quietly answered as his line of sight shifted to the floor. "Hopefully he'll be alright…" Shinpachi was also worried about Okaita, but someone had to be strong enough to keep things going while Okira and Okaita were out of commission.

She nodded. "Me too…and what about Okria?" she was slightly surprised that she wasn't the one that was checking in on her.

Shinpachi looked back at her. "She's her normal spit-fire self." He commented as he smirked. "Her body is worn out, but with some more rest, she'll be alright. I'm sure she'll be up and walking around before the day is out."

Misao nodded as she tried once again to sit up. This time she was able to, but with pain in her wrist as she used it to brace herself up. "I'm glad everyone made it through." She said, smiling.

He nodded. "I'm sure you're about ready to go back to Kyoto, aren't you Okashira?"

Misao's smile faded a bit, but was replaced with a larger one that was plastered across her face. "Yeah! I get to go back tomorrow, don't I?" Her happiness was in the fact that she could return home to Aoshi, and she wanted to try out her new graceful skills that she had learned out on him. But her thoughts were clouded by the words that rang through her mind from the drug lord. _"…Aoshi avoids you like the plague. You're never in the same place at the same time, nor will you ever be!"_ She tried hard to mask her concern, hoping that Shinpachi wouldn't pick up on it.

He could see what Okira had mentioned earlier. She was trying to hide behind her plastered smile, but anyone who knew her could tell that she was hiding something. Instead of inquiring, he nodded as he told her that he was going to bring her something to eat.

She nodded as she crawled out onto the porch and she thought to herself, trying to figure things out. Was this the life she truly wanted? What was really awaiting her in Kyoto? Was it always going to be the same? Would Aoshi ever see her more than a child? After sitting on the porch for a while, still tormented by questions, she wondered if there was anything that she could do to ease her confused mind. She decided to attempt to meditate to bring peace. The only thing she could think of that brought her peace was when she was younger, training with Hannya and Aoshi. She closed her eyes and thought back to those happier, simpler times. She thought about what might've happened if she was permitted to stay with them. Soon, she found herself caught up in a terrifying day dream:

_Misao opened her eyes at the sound of gunshots. She had drifted asleep while watching over Beshimi and Hyottoko. When she opened her eyes, she saw two empty futons in front of her and Beshimi and Hyottoko were no where to be seen. Inquisitively, she got up and started to wander down the hall. There was a racquet going on downstairs in the ballroom, and went to investigate. She ran down the stairs to the bottom where she hit landing after landing before making it to the main hall. She had been told to stay back and watch over the injured men, but with neither of them present, she felt that she could investigate the strange sound. _

_As she neared the door, the noise got louder and louder. She could hear Aoshi and Hannya shout something, but she couldn't make it out. Just then, the strange noise stopped, and she opened the door to revel Kanryuu, pointing a gun at a strange red-haired man She looked over to Aoshi, who had bullet wounds in his leg, as Shikijou was on his knees in front of him. _

"_Aoshi!" She screamed as she went running to him. _

_Aoshi yelled something to her, but she ignored it, sprinting towards him, but she tripped on an object that was lying on the floor. She looked at what she had tripped over, and identified it as none other than Hannya. Tears welled in her eyes as she meekly called to him, hoping that he would answer. "Hannya…?" _

_She then looked around the room to see Beshimi, Hyottoko and upon further inspection of Shikijou, they were all in the same state – lifeless. "NOOOO!" she screamed as she picked herself back up and ran towards the only remaining member that was still alive. "AOSHI!" she screamed as she ran. _

_He yelled at her again, but she couldn't understand what he said since the noise covered it up, and she was stung with several bullets before she crashed into him. _

"_Misao!" She heard him cry out._

_She weakly opened her eyes long enough to give him a small, trembling smile. She reached up to touch his face, saying "I've…been looking. . .for you. . .Aohi-sama. . ." she was able to squeak out of her weakening and wavering voice. _

Misao snapped her eyes open. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! She would've been there with the other four, attacking their enemies. She wasn't supposed to die in Aoshi's arms! She tried to go back and change the course of the dream, but to no avail.

Her mind then thought about all of the questions that had encased her young mind, and tried to figure out the answers. The psychological attacks from the mission the night before weighed heavily upon her. There was only one person that had an answer to one of the many questions that had been lurking in the back of her mind. Okira knew the answer to what really happened between her and Aoshi, one she could order her to answer. She instead tried to focus on her breathing, but with each breath she took; more questions seemed to enter her mind. Eventually, she sought out Okira for help with meditation rather than the question. She would ask that at a later time, right now she sought peace rather than answers.

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**A/N: To be Continued...**


	16. Meditation

**Greetings!** My goodness has it been THAT long since I have updated! I am so sorry! It has been a VERY hectic year, and with some of the twists in the story, I had to really make sure that it makes sense, and that it works with the following chapters. I have Chapter 17 also near completion, and 18 started. I hope that I can keep up better in the future, for this is rediculous on your (the reader) and my end. I'm starting to get back in the flow of things a bit, so I hope I can keep this up. Anyway, Thank you for your patience as it's been over a year (unexcusable on my end!), and your support. On to Chapter 16.....!

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**Chapter 16: Meditation**

Aoshi awoke in the early afternoon without memory of the late-night delusion. However, he felt a heaviness about him weighted him down. He still felt a little ill and probably would not be able to do anything about it. The doctor was summoned, and said the worst of it was over, and he would make a full recovery in a few more days if he rested. Aoshi had wanted to meet Misao at the train station tomorrow, and he thought he would have the determination to meet her there. It wouldn't be an overexertion to meet her after her journey to Yokohama. In a way, he thought that this would bring peace to both of their minds, and life could continue on as it had.

Wide awake, he stared up at the ceiling, attempting to figure out the source of the feeling of weight upon him. He thought it may have been not going with Misao, but she was assured to return tomorrow. For once in his life, he wanted to overturn the rule of rest, so Misao would be on her way today. He wanted to see her alive and well, and as much as he would not admit to it, he missed her and wished her near to him. As time passed, he realized that she was not the reason why he had this feeling. It was another woman in his life that was the true source, the one that he had recently attempted to make his peace with, and the one he lost in his insanity.

"Okira…" The name escaped his lips in a whisper, one that was not heard by the man that was watching over him. He knew that it was about lunch time, and the thought of food made his stomach turn. He realized he had to eat something to regain his strength, but it was not the miso that he was going to be served. In reflection upon her memory, he remembered a soup that she made for him long ago, one that tasted of chicken and had noodles in it. He found himself thinking of the simpler times, and through all of the hardships that he had endured in his life, she was by his side through them all. In her attempt to console him after the Karyuu affair, he destroyed her due to that very close friendship. If he threw her away, he would be able to defeat the Battousai.

Upon further reflection, he realized she was just a memory, and no longer among the land of the living. The injury that she had was one that would've easily killed her, one specific strike from his most powerful attack, one that he judged that she fatally did not block. He was a witness to her destruction, and saw the blood trail that she left in attempting to escape. By the large drops of blood that he witnessed, there was no way that she could survive long enough to get to Tokyo with loosing so much blood. He had thought that before the bitter cold of winter comes, he would attempt to find her body to grant her a proper burial. He did not want her to turn into a Kyoketsu, a ghost that would haunt him for the rest of his days; her memory would be enough.

He thought of her, and why would she sacrifice her life. In knowing her, he realized that it was her hope for his happiness, no matter the cost; even if it meant her life. He thought back also to the summer where he saw something similar in the battle with Shishio; Yumi sacrificed herself to allow him to get a very vital strike at the Battousai. He came to realize that Okira did the same thing, knowing full well he would be happier as a man than a monster, and hoped that he would realize through her sacrifice. In the end, her compassion for him was the start of the turning point to return him to his humanity, rather than the key to throwing it all away. This allowed him to attack Okina, and have him live; it was completely oblivious to his consciousness, but obvious to his sub-conscious. Her gift ensured Okina's life, and a seed for the Battousai to sow to return him to humanity. This was her final hope, and although he attacked her, she still had shown compassion to him.

He thought of having no regrets, but the outcome of his action he had to live with, and he almost wished that she had survived. However, if that were the case, she would've written or he would be able to feel her presence, but as the months turned and seasons changed, with no word, an order he gave to her unfulfilled, it strengthened the possibility that she had perished. His final order to her was to keep Misao away from him, and her death was confirmed the day of his and Okina's attack.

"_Why Lord Aoshi? Why Lord Aoshi?!" _Misao's voice rang through him of that day. At the time, he had no thought as to what happened between him and the old ally, but those words pierced him on many levels. It allowed Misao to see him as the demon that he was, and it was confirmation of Okira's death. He had paused on the trail as she cried out to him as he took in the news that he had thrown everything away, friends, comrades, and his consort. He was pleased in the news because he had successfully thrown everything away. There was nothing left. It was one thing to be driven by a goal, it was another to destroy everything he held dear.

His mind shifted back to Misao, and hope for the future. He had sworn to protect her, and he swore to himself that he would not allow her the same fate as the four or Okira. Misao was to return the next day, and he wanted to be at the train station to put his mind at rest. That the mission was real. The mission was a success, and she would be her chipper, happy self. He was sure she was concerned about his condition as well, and the reunion would put both minds at rest. The Yokohama post ran like clockwork, and if she was not on the train, something would've gone very wrong. He shuddered at the thought, but in a way, wouldn't be surprised since Shinpachi and Okaita were the only ones there. But he would at least hear word as to how the mission went if that were the case. He did not want to think of the possibility, but began preparing himself for the worst.

Shiro interrupted his thoughts for a moment when he had returned with a cup of miso soup, which made Aoshi's stomach turn. He ate it regardless, knowing that he would need strength for the day following; to meet the Aoiya's ray of sunshine.

Shiro sat silently nearby the stoic man, holding back his curiosity of Okon's report of the delusion, and the nature of it. However, he knew that Aoshi would give him silence due to keeping his personal affairs private.

After lunch, Aoshi wanted to get up and move around, seeing just how much energy he had after lying for the past four days in bed. He was unaccustomed to being bed-ridden for so long that it seemed to be uncomfortable. He hoped that he would be able to get some fresh air, and that it might do him some good. However, he did not want to overexert himself to ensure that he would be able to meet Misao by train.

***

Okira was at her desk, putting the finishing touches on the reports about the mission, but in her going over the details again, she had found an anomaly within it. One of the party's attendees was missing, which made her wonder if there was any further cause of suspicion, or if it was just overlooked by the planner. Her mind automatically came up with a few scenarios in which this bit of information was relevant or not. Either way, Misao's ticket was rerouted through Osaka instead of a direct route. She briefly thought about if the two were connected, but rested in the fact that her contingency plan was in order, and Misao would safely arrive in Kyoto tomorrow, despite her mental capacity and confusion. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her shoji door. "Come in…!" she called softly, as it slightly startled her out of her thoughts. She set down the brush that was in her hand and turned toward the door.

Misao slid the shoji open, and looked about the room to find Okira in the corner at her desk. "How are you?"

Okira half-heartedly looked at the young woman, and turned back to her work. "Fair, I suppose. I am not overly pleased with my physical condition, but I am hoping to have enough strength to walk by evening. I was a little careless, and reopened a previous injury. Really, nothing to be concerned with…" She paused, watching Misao closely. "What about you?"

Misao smiled. "It's nothing I haven't dealt with before." She said in her cheerful tone. "What 'cha doin'?"

"I'm finishing the post-mission reports for the records. I will have them completed soon." she said as she looked back and forth at the girl in front of her and the reports. "I will have them completed long before your departure tomorrow morning, so you could review them on your trip if you wish," She commented with a slight smile.

"Ah, I see…" Misao trailed off, trying in vain to fight off the internal turmoil she was facing.

"Is there something else that you need me to do, Misao?" Okira inquired noting the dazed look in the young woman's eyes, and watching her closely, to see if she could read anything beyond the mask of her bright smile.

"There is, may I sit down?" she asked as she lowered her head, with her eyes picking out a spot on the floor.

Okira nodded, slightly confused. Misao was her leader, and yet she was asking permission? She gestured to the spot that Misao's eyes seemed fixed on, which was just inches away from where she sat. "What is it?"

Misao was desperate to find a stillness of mind, one that would silence the voices screaming in her head. "Can you teach me to meditate?". The question was slow as it crossed her lips, hesitant, and with a hint of fear. She faced the slightly older woman in front of her, "I've tried to focus on her breathing, and thing about happy memories, but it did not help." she added as she looked up into Okira's eyes.

Okira was tipped off even further when the word 'meditate' escaped her mouth. It confirmed to her that Misao was truly hurting, and with her mind in so much turmoil, it was questionable if she should return to Kyoto in less than 24 hours. With her mind in such a state, she was curious if Misao would even be able to make it home. Okira had saw her distressed before, but never like this. She then nodded to her request, hoping it would bring her some clarity. She thought for a moment about the meditations she and Aoshi had practiced, but none of them seemed to suit Misao. She then got up and carefully limped past Misao and out to the door, shuddering in pain from her reopened injury. Looking up at the sky, she saw nothing but the purest blue. Smiling, she called Misao out into the courtyard.

A puzzled Misao observed her, complying to the simple request, following her into the courtyard. She was curious as to what Okira was up to, and hoped that it would slow her mind long enough to truly refute the insults in her dizzying mind.

Okira had an idea of a meditation that had worked well for her in the past, but knowing that Misao was a smart girl when she wanted to be, she would just give her the basics. Having a triumph for her to figure it out would be good for Misao, and she would feel more assured about herself and position. The idea of the exercise was to push any thought out into the vastness of the blue sky, and out of her system. Okira had come up with this idea when watching the stars at night before missions, and helped her relax a bit, but the purpose was served much better with a cloudless sky. It required less patience than other forms of meditation, which would suit Misao much better. "Now, lay down" she said, watching for Misao's inquisitive expression, which she did not deny her.

Slightly confused, Misao watched Okira, who reassured her with a nod. Misao decided to trust her, laying down on her stomach on the ground of the courtyard. "What does this have to do with meditation?" she inquired, looking up at Okira, who was now standing over her, looking down, suppressing a giggle.

Okira knelt down beside Misao's head, commanding in an soft whisper, "Trust me. Turn over onto your back and stare at the sky."

Misao obediently followed the instructions, placing her arms behind her head and looked out into the vast azure. This was much different than any other form of meditation than she had see before. However, she was desperate for the voices to subside, and she hoped this would help silence the insulting voices in her mind.

"Relax." Okira stood and stated with a smile. "Blue is a soothing color, and just let it seep into your existence. Let it put your mind, body and soul at rest."

Misao wanted badly to agree with her, but was still skeptic. "What am I supposed to do now?" She asked, nearly fearful of what Okira was going to say next.

"Keep staring at the sky until you feel better. I'll leave you to this, and if you need anything, I will be in my room finishing up the reports." Okira stated cheerfully as she limped back to the porch, and disappeared through the doorway of her room. She knew that it would not take Misao long to figure out what to do.

Misao sighed as she continued to stare into the unending blue. Her mind started to wander, and she wanted to go do something else. It wasn't long before the onslaught of darkness, as a haunting shadow of the verbal abuse from the drug lord began to envelop her mind, sending despair through her. She struggled to keep her eyes on the sky and in control of her breathing, which was not an easy task. After what seemed like an undeterminable amount of time, the darkness within her consuming her, she gave up, sitting up in a cold sweat. Deep blue was not a soothing color to her, due to it having the same basic color as Aoshi's eyes, whom about half of her internal turmoil came from. He was a mystery, and she wondered whether or not she really mattered to him if she was alive or not. She wondered if there was any hope for getting a smile out of the stoic man. Confusion and frustration consumed her, turning her emotions into anger towards the situation, and Okira, whom this would not have happened if she would not have left Misao alone with her thoughts like that. Immediately, she returned to Okira's room, determined to share in the torment that she was facing.

Okira had just signed off on the reports with a sigh of relief when her shoji door flew open, revealing a fuming Misao. "I take it that it did not work…?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Misao yelled back at her. "What were you thinking to leave me out there with my thoughts like that?!"

Okira sat placidly, bracing for impact as Misao's earthquake and shrill voice crashed upon her. "The point of the meditation was for you to push your thoughts into the vastness of the sky, to release you from your torment…" She replied calmly, as she could see that Misao was struggling both internally and externally from last night's assault. This further confirmed what she had speculated and feared. She also realized that her minimal-detail way of giving information does not always work, especially with Misao, and she wrote the first letter reflecting that, but hoped if Misao could understand the meditation, she would not have to be so blunt in her communication.

"Well, it didn't do a damn thing!" She shook with fury, as the darkness engulfed her. She had convinced that it was Okira's fault for bringing all of the issues to the forefront, and that it was more painful than before. She became preoccupied with revenge, to see Okira suffer as she was, and the best way she could think of to do such a thing was to demand to know what Okira tried hard to keep hidden. "I DEMAND to know what happened between you and Aoshi!" Misao didn't allow any time for Okira to respond before adding, "I am your leader, and therefore you must answer me!"

"…"

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To Be Continued....(SOON I PROMISE!)


	17. Confrontation

**Author's Notes: **Hello once again! As I sit here and type this, I have Chapter 18 done (written, needs to be edited) and about 20 pages of upcoming chapters completed. I will admit, it may take me some time to wade through everything I have written for this part of the story, since it has been one of my favorites to toy with. However, I NEED to dive further into Misao's head than I currently have written, and I hope to gain insight through re-watching RK (oh, field research...^^), and rereading the Jinchuu Arc. I have been on a roll lately, and I hope it continues. I am also working on my Annual editing of the story as it stands., but this has been on the back burner in terms of what is going to happen soon in the story! Hehe...I LOVE writing this part! I really hope to update sooner than my last stint, and I am hoping that the momentum that I am gaining continues. Anyway, Thank you for your support, reviews and patience, it has been GREATLY appreciated and inspiring! Happy reading!

Also, as a side note, I'm sory that the chapters have been becoming increasingly longer (I am working on deeper detail & emotions) ^^;

**

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**Chapter 17: Confrontation**

Okira turned away from the fuming girl in front of her for a moment as flashes of the terrible reminiscence came to her mind. Misao had asked this question before, and it was her last order from Aoshi that she held onto. "I cannot answer that. Aoshi had sworn me to secrecy," she said calmly, attempting to shake off the images and the coldness from the plaguing memory. "I'm sorry."

"Don't try to change the subject, Okira! I am your Commander, and I demand that you tell me!" Misao's shrill voice cut through the other occupant of the room as she impatiently waited for the explanation.

"I cannot give you details then." She said as her eyes met Misao's.

Misao was taken aback by the force of her swordsman spirit, and its commanding presence. However, her eyes were glassy, as if she blinked, a stream of tears would run down her face. Despite all of this, she would not be deterred from her quest. She also was getting a twisted sense of accomplishment to drive such a strong member of the Oniwaban to near tears. "What happened?" she growled with clenched teeth.

"Our swords crossed shortly after the Kanryuu affair," she said slowly, as one tear escaped down her cheek, but her voice was still powerful as she added, "Your goal has been reached when putting someone else through torment."

Misao fumed, screaming, "You don't know what pain is! You weren't left behind by him! He kept you by his side, and you will never understand what it's like to be left behind!"

Okira struggled to stand, and as she did, she leaned precariously on the wall to keep her upright. "It is true, I do not know what it's like to be left behind." she said as she slowly looked deeply into the girl's eyes. "However, think about this…" Her fiery, passionate eyes now took on a cold, hard look, one that both of them knew well. "…remember that he left you behind to keep you safe from harm. Just think about what might have happened at Kanryuu's estate."

Misao's fury froze in place as Okira uttered those words as her daydream suddenly came back to mind. _'…Tears welled in her eyes as she meekly called to the body on the floor, hoping that he would answer. "Hannya…?" She then looked around the room to see Beshimi Hyottoko, and Shikijou in the same state - lifeless.'_

"If you were there, you would've shielded him as well. We were all charged to protect you, and if you had died on one of the battlefields that Aoshi had sought out for Hannya, Shikijou, Beshimi and Hyottoko, it would internally destroy him." Okira continued to speak as Misao's mind was a buzz.

'…"_Misao!" Aoshi cried out, but it was too late, for she had a bullet lodged in her side, and the room turned dark.' _

Okira did not want to push any further, but she knew that it may help Misao understand. "Look at what happened to Okina after he went insane. He wouldn't be able to live with himself after losing you."

The examples that Okira had laid out before her shot straight through her heart. She looked down at the floor, and hated to admit that she had a valid point. If this was truly the case, then Aoshi did care for her. However, if he cared for Okira, and she came back in a similar state, then is that how he shows he cares? She wanted so badly to hear for the longest time that he cared about her, and wondered why he did not say anything. Her anger flared again inside of her, forcefully asking, "What would you know? You weren't around at all!"

Okira's heart panged for Misao, knowing that her mind was in such turmoil, and she did not want to make it worse on her. She may have an underlining jealousy of her, but she never wanted to see her in such open anguish. She pressed on, hoping eventually the truth would reveal itself to her in time. "I was also charged with protecting you, everyone was. I was reassigned here to Yokohama shortly before your grandfather passed away. I also had a specific command from Aoshi himself to keep you away from him." Okira looked down briefly. "I failed his order." she sighed heavily before continuing, "I sustained a very critical injury within the battle with him, and I was not able to protect you from him. I was in a clinic in Tokyo for nearly a month as I recovered physically and emotionally from the ordeal. I had to come home in one piece as if nothing had happened. If it wasn't for an excellent lady doctor there, I would not be alive today." Okira attempted to walk the fine line between the facts that Misao had to hear with a tone that was not intended to feel like a 'woe is me story'. She shook her head solemly, stating, "Aoshi does care for you…" it pained Okira to allow it to escape her lips, knowing that he had probably forgotten about her, and went on as if nothing ever happened, and she didn't really matter to him. Misao, she knew for a fact, he did.

Misao hung onto the last five words that Okira had spoken, and wanted to hear more, but the sorrow and darkness that clouded her mind would not allow it. Any further words that would be spoken would fall upon deaf ears as Misao's tornado of confusion whirled within her head. She wanted desperately to hear more, and to believe that the sick, stoic, man in Kyoto truly did care for her. Somehow, in knowing that fact, she was not as joyful as she should've been, as her mind was a myriad of twisting questions, swirling around in her skull. In some ways, she wanted nothing more than to return to Kyoto, and her life before this mission. However, she knew that it was not possible. She hated to admit it, but the drug lord could be correct in terms of Aoshi not needing her, and that she was nothing more than a burden. In the back of her mind also swirled a question of the secret that was mentioned that Aoshi was hiding.

Sensing the anguish in Misao's body language, and all that had been placed upon her, Okira called out calmly to the young woman standing before her. "…Misao…?"

Misao blankly stared at the floor as questions continued to turn in her mind. She had thought that knowing what happened would answer some of her questions, but it only seemed to make the whole situation more convoluted. She did not respond to Okira's inquiry.

Okira carefully limped over and put her hand on Misao's shoulder, whose eyes met hers as Okira pleaded, "Leader, you must rest."

Misao quietly nodded, as she mindlessly, as if a zombie, walked out of the doorway, and down the porch.

Okira's concerned eyes followed her until she disappeared into a room that she was staying in. She sighed as she looked up at the sky, which had clouded over, began to rain. She closed the door behind her as she staggered back into her room, to see Shinpachi in her doorway from the other side of her room.

"I heard what you mean from down the hallway," Shinpachi said quietly as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "Her mind is certainly in turmoil, to the point that I wonder whether or not she could or should return to Kyoto tomorrow."

"I would be lying if I said that didn't think the same," Okira said quietly, wiping her eyes on her kimono sleeve.

"Then I believe that we should have her stay for a few days, and write a letter to the Aoiya to inform them of the situation," he said, nearly matching the volume of Okira's voice. "You have good relations with them, and have seen her at the height of all of this. Will you write the letter?" His voice seemed as if it was already decided.

Okira shook her head. "I can't," she simply stated, as the fire came back into her eyes, her voice was soft, but commanding. "She must return tomorrow, even though it is against our better judgment. I will write a letter to be sent on the same train as Misao, informing the Aoiya of her condition. However, I need for you to sign it. I also have a plan that will ensure her safe arrival in Kyoto…" Her voice trailed off, knowing that there was much to do before her departure.

"What do you mean that you need me to sign the letter?!" Shinpachi's chocolate eyes locked on her jade ones.

Okira closed her eyes, breaking the stare, looking away from him. "I dare not."

"Why not?!" Shinpachi asked, slightly confused and unnerved.

"Classified." she stated solemly, nearly silently. As she turned her back to him, and started straightening the piles of information on her desk.

"Since when did you have classified information that you could not tell me about? Okaita keeps us both in constant contact as information is freely shared between all of us. Did he send you on some mission, and did not bother to tell me?!" Shinpachi asked as agitation laced his voice, wondering why she was withholding information. "What's going on, Okira?"

Okira sighed. "It's in the past, and I wish to keep it that way…" She had hoped that this answer would deter him from the line of questioning, hoping that he would get the message not to press further.

"Past or no, I should be able to know what's going on!" he protested, completely missing her signal to drop it.

Okira's fiery jade eyes turned back to him with deadly seriousness. "No," she growled through her teeth. "I have already failed this mission earlier when Misao demanded that I give her an answer. I will not do so again."

"Does this have anything to do as to why you were missing for three weeks out in Tokyo last spring?!" Shinpachi asked, curious, but there was an edge to his voice. "Can you answer that?"

Okira turned back to her desk. "Yes," she hissed. "I am sworn to secrecy by our leader."

Shinpachi started again, as Okira's swordsman spirit and demeanor was so obvious that she would not divulge any more information. It was then that it dawned on him, that through Okira's encryption, she had given him all of the information he needed. He stopped to think for a second as Okira turned back to her desk, sensing the wheels in his head turn.

She knew she had said too much, but was adamant that he would have to figure it out on his own instead of her telling him bluntly that the condition the was in and the reason for her delayed return home last spring was because of how dangerous Aoshi had become.

Shinpachi stood there as he continued to observe her body language, which had turned into a more vulnerable, but guarded state. It was certainly a subject that she had attempted to keep hidden, and away from everyone around her. He started to put it together in a broken sentence as his train of thought: '_Last spring…Okira…who had a large chest injury, and good relations that she does not want to write to, even though it was her second home…leader, and judging by Misao's command, it must be Aoshi…'_

His mind started slowly piecing it together, and once it occurred to him, a quiet whisper of "Oh kami-sama" escaped his lips. _'If all of this is true, then it would be no surprise she would return in such a condition if he went full force against her.'_

Okira turned at the quiet gasp from Shinpachi's lips. "Do you understand now?"

Shinpachi was still in a haze when he turned his line of vision to her.

"Aoshi needs time to heal from his ordeal. If he were to receive a letter from me, it may send him into prolonged suffering. I do not wish that on him, and instead I wait for his message, instead of messing with his healing." Okira paused before she continued. "On second thought, he knows my handwriting, and could probably identify it. Would you write the letter if I told you what it needed to say? This way he wouldn't be able to trace it to me."

Shinpachi started walking toward her. "I know that you know him better than I do, but don't you think it might do some good if you had written a letter to him? He may think that you were dead, and to know that you are alive, it may help him heal." He paused, attempting to gauge her reaction. "If this is the case, then I will write this letter, for it would not be a good time to reveal it when the letter is predominantly about Misao, and her current condition. But you should at least think about it."

"His physical scars from our last encounter, just have mine have healed, but I fear that his mind hasn't. I have written him several times since then, but never sent the letters, allowing for his soul to heal from the Kanryuu affair. It is my way of coping with the whole scenario." She began to mix a bit more of the ink, handing the brush and a piece of paper to Shinpachi, who was now sitting next to her. "Anyway, Misao is more important than that right now." She finished mixing the ink and slid over a bit to give him more space in which to write on the desk.

"Quite right." He sighed. "We should start at the beginning then?"

"It's always the best place to do so," she said. "There is so much on her mind, and she came to me demanding answers, but I fear that they have only caused more confusion on her end."

"Like what?" He asked as he placed the last stroke upon the page that addressed it to the Aoiya.

"Like what kind of man did she follow around Japan for years, and who was capable of destroying those whom he held dear during his insanity," she stated calmly and sadly.

"She has to decide if she wants to continue to blindly follow a man with monstrous tendencies," he commented, watching Okira's expression.

"It is truly a difficult decision, one that will not be easy for her to make…"

_Meanwhile…_

Misao sat in her room, with her legs drawn up close to her body, with her head in her arms, contemplating, trying to make sense of the whole thing. _"Is he a man or a monster?"_ was one of the thoughts, but others plagued her mind as well. She knew one thing for certain; she did not want to stay in Yokohama for another minute longer than she had to. But she wondered as to what she was going home to. She had long thought that Aoshi cared deeply for Okira, even though he would never admit it, and he nearly killed her and his elder he looked to for guidance. It made her shudder at the thought that he would be so cold to those he had respected. The dark cloud enveloped her mind, and she struggled hard with the emotions and attempted to fight back against it, by trying to convince herself that Aoshi was healing. Her mind was a ferocious game of tennis as it bounced from the positive to the negative as if her life depended on it. The cool autumn air quietly blew through her slightly open shoji door, as the cool she felt on her skin seemed to match the lonely confusion that engulfed her.

***

Aoshi had gotten up, and was relaxing on the porch, peering out into the courtyard as he attempted to take comfort in the fact that Misao was to return. It was then that he saw Okina coming toward him with a grim look on his face. He turned his head to see from his sitting position on the porch to see the elder man walking in his direction. "Okina…"

"I see that you are finally out of bed" he said cheerfully, keeping his solemn look on his face. "Misao will be pleased to see you doing better."

Aoshi nodded as he watched Okina come toward him.

"I have something that you need to see." Okina said, sitting next to the stoic man of stone. "Take a look at this…" he said as he handed him the original letter that had sent Misao on this mission.

_Okashira: We have a problem! A local drug lord and his operatives have been slipping the drugs into people's food in the local restaurants. Please come and help us crack this case open to save the people here. Your assistance is needed as well as your leadership. -Okira, 2nd in command of the Yokohama Oniwaban Post. _

Aoshi felt a coldness run through his body as he reached out his hand, taking the crumpled letter into his hands, reading it over slowly, examining every minute detail. His eyes had a hard time focusing on the characters written in the short message. He read it over many times, attempting to make sense of it. Carefully, he absorbed every word and character, shaking his head, as cool sweat appeared on his forehead. _'This cannot be…' _He thought as he combed the letter for clues. Her survival was impossible given the injuries that she had sustained.

"Aoshi, did you face Okira in the spring?" Okina inquired, observing carefully his expression and demeanor.

He closed his eyes, setting the paper down in his lap.

Okina nodded, he did not have to say that it happened, but he could read the unsettling feeling within the younger man. "She's alive."

Aoshi continued to shake his head. "Okira would not word a message in this way. She would be much more discrete and not reveal details in such a manner. Someone is impersonating her. She also would not put rank in a letter." The note confirmed his worst fear, that the 'mission' was a trap to ensnare Misao to lure him to save her, dealing as much damage as possible. Whoever was behind this, was well aware of Okira, and their battle. He scanned his mind, trying to figure out who would know Okira well enough to impersonate her in such a way.

"Aoshi, she _is _alive…" Okina persuaded, thinking that if it was a trap, Okaita would've given them some sort of signal that something was wrong, and he himself did not pick up on any added distress. Before he could continue with his persuasion, Aoshi cut him off.

"Believe what you want. There is no way that she could've survived." he stated curtly, standing up and retreating back into his room, leaving no room for further discussion.

Okina couldn't help but watch him walk into the room, closing the door behind him. Reading into his response, and with the current events taking place, there was no doubt in his mind that Aoshi faced Okira in battle, and she received injuries severe enough to convince him that she had perished. If that were the case though, he himself should be dead after being hit with the Kaiten Kembu Rokuren. She must've used the same attack, but with Aoshi's insanity, it would've thrown the timing slightly off. This would have resulted in quite a slash across her chest, and could have been fatal if she did not block it in time. He could understand how Aoshi could fathom that she was dead, but most likely, she would have been able to stabilize herself long enough to make it to someone more medically trained than her. He also thought Okira was the reason that he had survived, risking her own life, and fighting the one person that she would never raise her blade against. He had to thank her for that. He turned and looked back out into the courtyard as the sun was setting brilliantly in the Western sky.

Tomorrow would be another day, and one that would either bring joy or panic to the Aoiya…

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To Be Continued...I Promise!


	18. Contingency

**Author's Notes: FOUND IT! **My computer crashed and had to scurry to save everything I could, though this brought chaos to my filing system, and it took me this long to find the darned thing. Sorry guys that this is taking me so long...I've been staring at this chapter for a year or two now, and it's just driving me nuts. The problem is I'm at a split in the story. I can either finish it, or go on with a second part, which is where all the climatic awesome stuff happens (in my mind). I'm hoping to update a bit more regularly than every few years, but life happens. One thing that I've found is this story pretty accurately shows my progression as a writer. It starts out with the first ever attempt at writing, and now that I'm doing it more frequently, my style has gradually progresses throughout the years. I think I have parts of 19 written as well. I really want to get back into this as my Fallout muse is kind of on hiatus at the moment, so I'm getting back to this.

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**Chapter 18: Contingency**

It was at dinner that Misao was seen by either Okira or Shinpachi, and they ate in silence. A messenger with news of Okaita's condition arrived shortly after they had finished their meal. Okira was set to go to the hospital to check on him, but a messenger had come by to update them before she had a chance. All three of them gathered around in a concerned anticipation as the messenger told them that Okaita has four broken ribs, a broken arm, numerous lacerations, and had lost a lot of blood. He was now in stable condition, and he could have visitors starting tomorrow. He had regained consciousness, but was still a bit delusional. Okira stated that she would visit after Misao was safely put onto the train. They thanked the messenger before he left, and he disappeared out into the street.

Okira leaned in the doorway with her arms crossed as Shinpachi had walked out to the sidewalk. "What do you think, Chocho?" he asked.

"I think it's good news! Okaita should be back in no time!" she said with a smile that was full of energy and enthusiasm. Her body language had changed, and she had a more chipper attitude.

Misao watched on as Okira's demeanor took a drastic swing, but she knew that it was because as far as the public was concerned, she was Chocho, the bubbly shop help the city knew and loved.

Shinpachi smiled slightly, sighing of relief. He walked back into the store with Okira following, closing the door behind them. "I do not believe that we should attempt to open the store for a day or so more, given the situation." he said in a hushed voice. "He may be on the mend, but I'm pretty certain that he will need a bit longer for recovery, and it would be very challenging for you to run the shop on your own, Cho."

"You maybe right, but it's already suspicious that we have been closed for two days already. I think that we should open for limited hours for a while as we're not bringing in any revenue by being closed." Okira stated, hoping he would see the point that they had already lost business due to the closure. "What do you think, Misao?"

Misao was in a daze, but Okira had snapped her out of it. "I think that Okira should open for limited hours for the time being due to keeping clientele and suspicion down." she turned to Okira before going on. "I want you to stay off your feet whenever possible though.". She was attempting to hold onto the authority of her position, no matter what state her mind was in.

"Arigatou, Okashira." Okira slightly bowed to her before she excused herself and headed down the hallway.

"Leader, you should get a good night's rest for your journey tomorrow." Shinpachi said quietly, continually keeping his gaze on the young leader.

Misao nodded, '_home…what am I returning to?'_ she thought as she mindlessly walked down to her room to pack and to sleep for the night.

Shinpachi followed at a distance as he read her body language, which was one of torment. _'I wonder if our promise to protect her included from her office of Okashira.'_ he thought as he too, retired for the night.

When Okira reached her room, she found the shoji open with a letter placed on her desk. She went over to read the letter first, as she knew what it might be. She picked up the piece of paper, turning it in her hands to read the signature, "Kyo". She unfolded the letter to read the two words written on the thin sheet of paper. "_Awaiting Orders_." She then walked to the door to see the young man sitting on the opposite side of the shoji.

She reached into her kimono sleeve and handed the man some money. "For lodging. Meet us at the train station; I will give you further details then. For now, go rest." She said quietly, yet forcefully.

The man's eyes met hers, as she reflected the importance of her orders to him. He nodded, acknowledging, and disappeared into the night.

Okira closed the door behind her, and curled up under the covers as sleep took hold of her.

Aoshi could not sleep. The thought that someone was impersonating Okira made him feel like he was going to be sick. Who would do such a thing to him? There were very few people that knew of Okira, and their connection since most of it was from behind closed doors, or when she was in disguise, and that was only on rare occasion. He combed through his mind as to why was this all happening, and for what reason.

He thought of his enemies, but many of them were either imprisoned or dead themselves. Thinking back further with the clan wars, he also thought that all of the scores were settled, and the last time he heard anything from a rival clan was over 15 years ago. It jogged his memory back to a simpler time, and a secret that he had held for nearly 18 years. He shook his head, thinking that Okira had a right to know the deepest classified mission that he had been on, but failed miserably with his insanity. He sighed at the thought that she never was given such information, and she would never know. She was to be informed when she could take care of herself and the climate of war had settled.

Deep down, he secretly hoped that she would be alive, but he could not bring himself to think so, given the evidence the contrary. He thought that if an old man such as Okina could survive, then she could have, right? No. Okina had Misao to run for help, and Okira had only herself, deep in the woods without aid. It was miles from Tokyo, and within the dark heart of the forest. It had nearly taken him a full day to walk back to town when he sought Kenshin. However, she was a medic, but did she have the skill necessary to take care of such a wound?

His mind went back and forth like the end of a wind chime on a gusty autumn day. As he attempted to go to sleep, his mind would not stop as if it was an accelerating runaway locomotive down an infinite track. Eventually, after hours of him attempting to calm his mind, he drifted asleep, resting in the fact Misao will be home tomorrow, and if not, and he was right in terms of it being a trap. He will cross that bridge when he gets there. For now, he needed his rest.

Okira was up at the crack of dawn, her injury was healing, but she still had a slight limp to her. She walked into the kitchen, and spotted Shinpachi attempting to make breakfast. As she stood in the doorway, she giggled at the man before her. He may be a year her senior, but had very little experience with making meals on a regular basis. "How's your shoulder this morning?" she cheerfully cooed to him as he was trying chaotically to keep breakfast from burning.

"Fine." he stated, not turning around, but frantically attempted to keep an eye on the food. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing…." she commented in a nonchalant way as she stepped further into the kitchen. "It's just that you have forgotten to add the ingredient that is still sitting on the counter." She smiled.

Shinpachi glanced at her, then back to the missing ingredient. "You know this is why I stay out of the kitchen, right?"

She softly chuckled before taking over the cooking, adding the missing ingredient and mixing it as if nothing was left out. "Yes, I know, so why are you even trying?" Her inquiry was written across her face through her expression.

He sighed. "I know that you're injured and Okaita is recovering, and I thought that I would…uh…"

"…try to cook, even though it is not you're not that good at it, to help out a bit around here?" She finished his statement. She had been around him long enough that she could understand his logic at times. "It is very sweet of you Shinpachi, but I'm not sure if our young leader can stomach the spices that you put into the food to cover the basic burnt taste." She laughed.

"I just wanted to make sure that Misao had something in her stomach before she left." He said as he began to prepare the table. "Is she awake?"

"I don't know, I just got up myself." Okira stated as she continued her attempt to salvage breakfast.

Shinpachi paused for a moment as he asked, "Do you think she is ready to return?"

Okira looked over at him for a moment. "I am concerned as well, but she needs to return to what is constant and familiar. She is in a strange city around people that she really does not know well. It would be better for her to go back to what she knows to settle. However, I am not going to allow her to go alone."

He gave her a confused look, for it took him a minute to catch up with her plan. He knew well that Okira would not leave Okaita's side if she had the choice, and he had to return to his normal life that morning. He saw that she had already informed her contact in Osaka of the plan and possibility of the entire mission. "Kyo then?"

She nodded. "He arrived here late last night, and will be following Misao to ensure her trip home. I am sure that he can take care of this situation…after all I trained him." She said with a smile. "When I informed him of our situation, he came to see what he could do to help. He will meet us at the train station."

"I did not see him around this morning though…did he stay here last night?" Shinpachi inquired.

"No. If Misao knew that we were tailing her, she would be very upset, and with the current state of her mind, she needs her independence to sort things out. She would see Kyo as a 'baby-sitter' instead of protection right now." She said calmly as she started to put the cooked food into dishes and place them on the table.

"I see." Shinpachi commented quietly. "Were you planning this either way that the mission would've gone?"

"Yes. We were all sworn to protect her, and therefore, regardless of the rivalry between us, I stay true to that order." She said looking at Shinpachi. "Just as I have for all of them that had been given to me, save one."

"What order?" Misao asked as she stepped through the door to the kitchen. "What are you talking about?"

"Not much, just orders of the past that are still being carried out." Shinpachi replied with a soft smile. "Like the one to protect you that is ongoing."

"Oh." she said softly, and in a daze. Her eyes were glassy, and just looked exhausted. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but it eluded her. One thing she knew was that she did not want to be in Yokohama any longer than she had to. At the same time, she was uncertain that home was where she needed to be either. The pressures of the Aoiya, the weight of her office and the feeling of unrequited emptiness that she had from Aoshi. She walked further into the room and sat down at the table. She avoided Okira's gaze to the best of her ability, knowing she had crossed the line to the point that she had abused her power.

Okira occasionally glanced in Misao's direction out of curiosity and concern. She was still a bit miffed that she had made her tell her of the encounter, but her well-being was more important. Misao was acting like an animal that was unwillingly backed into a corner that could snap at any moment. She had hoped that Misao's return home would help stabilize her, and she would be able to return to normal, not to mention that they were all most likely worried about her.

Breakfast passed with an unsettling silence. It was not long before Shinpachi was running out the door, stating that he was late, and mentioned something about meeting Okira at the hospital later.

Misao and Okira quietly cleaned up the table, washed the dishes and put them away.

"Are you excited to return to Kyoto, Okashira?" Okira finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Misao attempted to say enthusiastically, but her normal energy was lacking. "I should be back tonight, right?"

Okira nodded. "You should indeed return in time for supper, and for one of Okina's bone-crushing hugs." She said with a soft smile, as she gauged Misao's reactions. "Are you sure you are alright?"

Misao solemnly nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just haven't seemed like yourself. Even after such a battle, you still have had your energy, but this one seemed to have sucked the life out of you." Okira was carefully playing her cards carefully to see if Misao would talk, even though she would be the first to admit that she was the last person that Misao would talk to about such things.

"It's nothing, I am just worn out." Misao's voice was quiet but to the point. She did not want to discuss the topic further to anyone, let alone Okira. "I'm just looking forward to being home again."

Okira nodded. "I can certainly understand that…." She paused before adding, "I had a similar experience last spring when I finally was able to return to Yokohama from Tokyo. I could not wait to be home, and to sleep in my own bed again."

Misao nodded. "Home…" she quietly whispered as she thought to the Aoiya, and the everyday rituals that she had missed. From Okon and Shiro's shy remarks to Omasu's complaints of Okina's womanizing. She smiled faintly as the little dynamics came clear to her mind, but was clouded after she thought of the meditating member. She shook off the dark thoughts of Aoshi, and if he missed her or not and fought the welling feeling of uneasiness within her. Her smile became slowly wider as she thought about sleeping in her own futon, and being back to everything she knew as she combated the darkness within her. "…I'm sure they are awaiting my return…" she said quietly.

Okira smiled warmly. "…all of them."

Misao looked in Okira's direction with a hopeful, yet cautious look.

"I am sure that he is also awaiting your return. He may come off as cold as ice, but remember that he is loyal to his word, and to those around him." Okira said with a faint smile across her face, as if to hide an emotion to the contrary. "I'm sure he has recovered from whatever was ailing him, and will be awaiting your return, possibly at the train station." Okira deep down hoped that it would be true, seeing that Misao's affection and affliction were held in the same person, and that it would bring her peace after such an ordeal.

Misao smiled happily, trusting Okira's words. However, deep down, she nearly hoped that he was not going to be present at the station. She had many things to sort out, and she knew that seeing him could possibly make her even more confused.

The clock chimed, and both women looked at it, both with a mixture of fear and anticipation.

"It's time to go." Okira quietly stated. Against her better judgment, she asked, "Are you going to be alright?"

The fire in Misao's eyes could've lit the whole city on fire, but quickly softened. There was a reason why Okira would ask this question. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Okira was unsatisfied with her answer, and glad that she had created a contingency plan. She stood, and walked to the door, pausing briefly to allow Misao to grab her pack and meet her on the steps. She took this moment to change her demeanor into the cheerful Chocho. Peering out the doorway, it was a cool, overcast autumn day; one that if the sun could break its way through the clouds, it would be a gorgeous day, but the clouds above threatened rain. She did not allow it to hinder her alias' attitude, but wondered if the weather would have a more hindered affect on Misao, knowing that under different circumstances, she would probably run to the station without a hitch in her step.

When Misao met her, Chocho continually talked to her as if they were best friends. Misao half-heartedly played along, but her mind was not fully in it. She took a deep breath, and rested in the thought that she had beaten the dark thoughts and insults. However, she did not know that it was about to become infinitely worse.

* * *

To Be Continued... (I PROMISE!)


End file.
